TMNT Advent Calendar Challege: Apritello Edition
by Arcaninelover77
Summary: A 25 chapter advent calendar challenge found on Tumblr, only this is all Apriltello. Oh yes. Set in the 2k12 TMNT universe!
1. Snow

**(A/N:)** Why hallo there! So guess what? I have a new obsession! Anyone want to try and guess what it is? It's APRILTELLO! YES! PIZZA GYOZA! *ahem* So I found this advent calendar challenge on Tumblr, and I decided to do it. HOWEVER! I decided that EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER FROM 1-25 SHALL BE APRILTELLO! I'm also gonna try to connect all the chapters together instead of having them all as individual one-shots. Please keep in mind, that i haven't seen many episodes, so I'm not really used to writing the TMNT crew. I'm learning as I go along, so please bear with me! Well then, without further ado, here's the first chapter!

* * *

**Ch. 1: Snow**

The wind was blowing harshly, stinging the eyes of anyone who dared to walk in it. The temperature was falling rapidly, causing people to take up thick jackets, scarves, gloves, and any other layers of clothing that they owned. Oh yes, winter had definitely arrived in New York City.

_"I'm so glad it isn't snowing right now," _April thought as she walked down the street, a plastic bag clenched tightly in her yellow gloved hand. Despite the multiple layers of clothing she wore, she still felt a chill, and tried to hurry to her destination. The sooner she was out of this cold, the better. Not to mention it was nearing night time, and her mind could only imagine how much colder it would become.

April let out a sigh, a puff of visible air escaping through her chattering teeth. At least she had managed to convince her aunt to let her free that evening, believing that she was going to hang out at a friends' house for a while.

_"Which isn't a complete lie," _April mused silently, _" I am gonna hang out with friends, just not friends she knows." _April quietly walked on, her mind on the friends she had been spending more and more time with recently. The sixteen year old girl looked around her and noted that the crowd of people she had been in earlier was beginning to disperse. She really didn't have to worry about being alone in the dark, she knew one of her four friends would either be watching from the shadows and leap into action, or immediately come to her aid when she called if trouble appeared. Her four friends cared for her, and she, in turn, cared for them deeply as well. But though she loved her friends dearly, one stood out a bit more than his other three brothers in her mind... And speaking of him, there he was.

"Donnie!" April cried out in relief, running to the tall, mask wearing, anthropomorphic turtle. He was hidden in an alleyway, in case people were still around, but due to the nearly pitch black clouds and outrageously low temperature, the streets had finally emptied.

"Hey April," Donatello greeted back with his signature gap-toothed grin, giving her a small wave. He had his wooden bo staff strapped to his back as always, but there was a certain alertness in his chocolate brown eyes as he gazed around. A small grin formed on April's face as she realized what exactly was going through the purple clad turtle's mind.

"It's okay, Donnie," the red head said assuringly, "The streets are empty, people decided that they don't wanna be out in the cold." Frowning a bit she continued, "Actually, I've decided that I don't want to be in the cold either. Can we get to the lair before it starts to snow?" Donatello, who had been listening to her speak as attentively as he always did, let his brows raise at her last word.

"Snow?" he asked, slowly. April looked up at him, knitting her brows together in confusion as she saw curiosity written on his face.

"Yeah, snow," she replied in the same slow manner. "You know, the soft, cold, white stuff that falls from the sky during winter? Frozen water?" His eyes simply stared blankly at her in return. Looking into his puzzled chocolate eyes, April suddenly remembered that the four turtle brothers had lived in the sewers their entire lives, only recently having come up to the surface world.

_"They must have never seen the snow before..." _April thought, her eyes widening in realization. Looking into the eyes of the lanky third turtle brother, she saw a sudden gleam enter them. She knew that gleam. It was one that she had often seen in her father's eyes, before he was taken from her. It was the quizzical curiosity of a scientist. The second she saw that sparkle in his eyes, she knew. He wanted to see the snow. He wanted to feel it. Study it. Understand it. The teenage girl's lips curved into a small smile. She couldn't keep him from satisfying that curious nature. That need to understand was one of the qualities she admired in him.

"Do you want to wait a bit? I think it'll start snowing soon." She asked nonchalantly. He looked at her, excitement beginning to replace the questions that were burning within him. Then, in an instant it vanished, and in its stead was worry.

"Are you sure, April?" he asked hesitantly, " I mean, it's really cold out, and the guys are waiting, and-"

"It's okay, Donnie!" April assured him quickly, putting a hand on his arm to stop any movement, " Really, it's okay." Donatello immediately halted any protest the moment he felt her cold wool glove against his skin. He involuntarily shivered, though wether it was from the cold, or her touch, he wasn't sure. He simply looked at her smiling face, taking in the way the cold made her cheeks and nose rosy red. The way the twinkle of amusement he caught in her bright blue eyes made them shine. How the fiery orange bangs that peeked out from beneath a sunny yellow wool hat had been whipped around by the merciless wind. He couldn't help himself. He was enchanted.

"I don't mind waiting out, if anything, you're probably much colder than I am. The guys probably know that you're with me, and-" She suddenly stopped as she felt something wet against the exposed skin of her cheek. April slowly brought up the hand that wasn't touching Donatello, the one holding her shopping bag, and looked up into the sky.

"Donnie..." the girl breathed out excitedly, "Look!" Reluctantly, the teenage turtle tore his affectionate gaze from the girl, looked up, and gasped quietly. Falling from the sky were pure white dots. They were small, and there wasn't much, but he could see them. Tentatively, he stretched out the arm that wasn't being held onto and faced his palm up. He felt tiny pricks of cold hit his already freezing skin, but a split second later, and it was ice cold water.

"Wow..." he whispered in awe, taking in the drifting white pieces of precipitation.

"Yeah, snow is great," April agreed, "Just wait until it starts piling up a bit, then we can really have some fun!" Donatello whipped around to face her.

"Fun? What fun?" he asked, not bothering to try to keep the excitement out of his voice. April beamed at the now worked up turtle.

"All kinds," she began, "There are snowball fights, and snow angels, and tobogganing, and building snowmen, and-" April stopped short and grinned up at her terrapin companion. "But we can wait a bit for that. For now, let's get back to the lair, I have a surprise for you guys." She jostled the plastic bag that she had been carrying, emphasizing her point. Donatello returned the smile, showing off the gap in his teeth.

"Alright, then! Let's go!" In his haste to get back home, Donatello didn't seem to realize that he had grabbed her gloved hand and was pulling her along. Surprisingly, she didn't mind it as much as she thought she should have, and it actually made her face a bit warmer; though she wasn't quite sure why. As he lead her along, she decided to wait until they got to the lair before saying anything, if he didn't notice, of course.

Just until they were out of the snow.


	2. Candy Canes

Ch. 2: Candy Canes

When the two teens finally reached the lair, they were greeted by the sound of three distinct voices yelling at what seemed to be each other.

"Mikey! Raph! Knock it off you guys! I can't hear Captain Ryan with you messing around like that!"

"I'M SORRY RAPH! I was just bored, honest!"

"BORED?! THAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?!"

Donatello hesitated at the door. Looking to his human companion, he gave her a somewhat apologetic gaze.

"Are you sure you want to go in there...?" he asked. April only smiled cheekily back at him.

"Yup! Positive," she said casually, "But you might want to let go before we go in." She lifted their joined hands into his line of sight, wanting to see his reaction. His eyes widened comically, and he dropped her gloved hand as if it was burning. His face became a bright shade of cherry red that April didn't even know was possible on a turtle.

"Oh, shell!" he exclaimed, averting his eyes from her gaze,"I'm so sorry, April! I just- I mean I... I'm not exactly... uuhh" The teenage turtle ceased his stuttering as he heard April's tinkling giggle. He looked back up and saw her eyes didn't contain the disgust or annoyance he thought they would. Instead he saw light blue brighten up with mirth, like the sky being lit up by the sun. He immediately fell into the trance that she never failed to put him under as she spoke.

"It's okay, Donnie, I didn't mind. In fact, it actually helped me warm up a bit. Thanks," she said with a small, shy, smile. She looked into his eyes and startled a bit. There was something in them that she hadn't noticed before. Something warm, and kind, and... What was it? She had never seen whatever was in his eyes at the moment; this was new. Whatever it was, it was making her feel...good. She felt warm and cozy, and she wanted more of it. Donatello didn't dare move a muscle. She was looking straight into his eyes with a mix of amusement, wonder, and... What was that? There was something else there, something his intellectually advanced mind couldn't decipher. How long they stayed there just gazing silently at each other, neither was sure, but both teens were jostled from their trance-like staring contest abruptly when they heard the heavy creak of the lair door and a happy voice shout out:

"April!" The said girl barely had time to turn away from Donatello before she was tackled by a blur of green and orange.

"Mikey! Get off of her!" Donatello reprimanded, recovering quickly and trying to pull his younger brother off of the pretty redhead. April only laughed, leading the two brothers inside where they were greeted by another turtle clad in blue.

"Hey April," Leonardo addressed politely, giving the girl a wave from his place in front of the tv. He then immediately turned his attention back to the screen, dark blue eyes growing glazed. A stocky fourth turtle then came walking out, wearing a red mask on his face. He held a ragged towel in his hands, and it had smudges of what appeared to be brightly colored paints. Spotting the small teen turtle still clinging to April, he narrowed his eyes and growled.

"Don't think this is over, Mikey," he threatened, voice low with malice. He then turned his emerald eyes to the girl his youngest brother held. "Hey, Gingersnap." He gave the teenage human girl a curt nod before walking over and settling down on the couch, grabbing a comic book along the way. Donatello decided to join his older brothers, having given up trying to pry the excited orange clad turtle off of his human friend.

"Hey Leo, Raph," April greeted the two brothers back. Looking down to the now crouched Michelangelo, who had finally let her go, she smiled.  
"And hi to you too, Mikey." The youngest of the four turtle brothers grinned back up at her, before focusing on the bag she held in her hand.

"What did you bring us, April? Is it food? Is it comics?" The wound up teen gave a sudden gasp, "Is it pizza?!"

"Mikey!" Leonardo scolded, "You can't just assume that whatever April brought with her is for us. That's rude!" Michelangelo simply stuck his tongue out at the oldest of the four brothers before turning back to April.

"It's okay, Leo," April said reassuringly, "This actually is for you. All of you." The four turtles' interest suddenly peaked and four different pairs of eyes had her at the center of their attention. They watched, fascinated, as April pulled a box filled with red and white stripped hook shaped objects out of the plastic, eyes widening as she did so.

"What's that?" Raphael asked, the excitement in his voice betraying his indifferent appearance.

"These," April began triumphantly, "are candy canes." Mikey, who had been crouching down at the girl's feet shot up and swiped the festive box from her hands.

"Candy?!" he exclaimed excitedly, staring at the box. April nodded her head in confirmation.

"Yup," she replied, getting the other two boxes out of the bag, "They're a special kind of candy that's only available during the winter." She handed one of the boxes to Mikey, who then put the two boxes down, and tore the plastic off of the one she held. Grabbing five of the stripped treats, she passed them out to the four brothers, keeping one for herself. The four teens stared cautiously at the small hook shaped objects in their hands. April rolled her eyes before popping the candy she held into her mouth.

"Come on guys," the girl teased in between her mouthful of peppermint, "Don't be wimps." Four pairs of eyes glared at her as one by one, each brother had their first taste of the popular treat. The reaction was instantaneous. Each brother seemed to swoon as they scarfed down their candy, polishing off the first box in a matter of seconds. April could only stare in shock as the turtles bickered over the minty treats.

"Wow," was all she could say,"I've barely even started my candy cane, and you guys have already finished a box?" The four teens looked up sheepishly from their squabble over the box and grinned at her. Seizing the opportunity, Michelangelo and Raphael swiped the full boxes and bolted to their room, cackling madly.

"Hey get back here, guys!" Leonardo fumed, dashing after them, "I'm your leader, so you have to share with me!" The two remaining teens looked on in amusement before turning to face each other.

"Sooooo, I don't suppose you brought any more candy canes with you?" Donatello asked sheepishly, looking at his human companion hopefully. April shook her head.

"Sorry Donnie," she replied sadly, "That was all I had."

"Oh..." he sighed dejectedly, "Yeah, I figured." April frowned. He seemed so disappointed...he must have really loved the candy. A sudden, crazy idea struck the girl as she ate the treat in her mouth.

"Here," she said pointing to the half of the candy cane sticking out of her mouth, "You can eat this part." Donatello's face immediately flared up in a bright shade of red, and he began to splutter.

"W-W-WHAT?!" he shrieked, his voice a few pitches higher than normal, "I-I can't... I mean I... Uummm... W-what I want to say... Uuuhhhhh..." April simply rolled her eyes at the tall, purple clad turtle, and jutted her face out toward him, putting the minty treat near his mouth. Donatello didn't know where he found the courage, but staring into those sky blue eyes, he once again found himself entranced as he leaned forward slightly, taking part of the candy cane into his mouth. Blue and brown were locked, neither looking away as he slowly nibbled away at the stripped treat. Both could feel their hearts thumping wildly, becoming an almost painful thud. Donatello was finding it increasing difficult to swallow the closer they became. April couldn't breath. She didn't dare move. They were so close, all she could see was brown surrounded by purple. All she could hear was her heart hammering in her chest. Closer, closer, just a little closer...

"Hey, April! Got any more candy canes?" And just like that, both the spell an the candy cane were broken. Hastily jumping away from each other, the two turned to face the oldest of the turtle brothers who came walking in with a scowl on his face.

"No! Uh, n-no, sorry Leo," April stammered out quickly, "Um, I'm gonna head home, guys, it's getting late, goodnight!" Then she was gone. Leonardo turned to his brother with a raised brow.

"What was that about?" he asked in mild surprise. Donatello only muttered something unintelligibly under his breath, a glazed look in his eyes before he stumbled away into his lab. Leonardo shrugged. Whatever happened wasn't his business.

"Raph! Mikey! You owe me candy canes!" he called out, walking back to his place in front of the tv.

Meanwhile, a redheaded teen girl was treading through the snow, looking up into the sky in a daze. She sighed, exhaling a puff of air. Suddenly she stopped and smiled.

She could still taste peppermint.


	3. Mistletoe

Ch.3: Mistletoe

Donatello couldn't sleep. He knew he should, that is, if he wanted to function properly the next day, but he just couldn't. Pretty blue eyes haunted him, not allowing him to get any rest. He could still taste peppermint on his breath. They had been so close. He had been so close. He had been close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. Slapping a hand over his face Donatello sighed. He wasn't going to get any sleep. Sitting up in his bed, he pulled his homemade laptop into his lap and flipped it open. Turning it on he gazed fondly at his computer's wallpaper for a second before clicking on an icon and opening a web browser. His nimble and experienced fingers quickly typed out words into the search bar, and he winced as the clacking of keys cut through the silence. He didn't want to wake up his brothers. Donatello narrowed his eyes as the light from the screen grew bright, popping out the results from his search.

"Woah..." he let out quietly, scrolling through the results. He didn't know there were so many Christmas traditions. He looked through each of the traditions separately, studying each of them intensely. He had just finished up an article on decorating a tree when a link caught his eye.

_"Mistletoe? What's that?" _He clicked on the green colored word in genuine curiosity, and suddenly he was taken to a web page that had a large picture of some sort of plant. The plant was green and leafy, small white berries adorned it and the chosen picture had it tied with bright red ribbon.

_"What does this have to do with Christmas?" _he thought, puzzled. Scrolling down further to read whatever text was there, he was startled as a picture of a smiling man and woman kissing underneath the small plant popped out on his computer's screen. He stared at the picture in confusion.

_"What is this...?" _he thought, bewildered. He scanned the text underneath the picture, learning what exactly the tradition was. He had only read a few lines before straightening upright, a blush evident on his face as his eyes widened.

_"Oh," _his mind hazily registered, _"that's what it's for."_ Exiting the web page, Donatello stiffly turned his computer off and closed it shut. Putting it aside, he immediately walked to his desk and opened the drawers , pulling out a pen, paper, and multiple brightly colored markers. He set to work, a determined flame in his eyes. He was going to get April under the mistletoe with him if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

"There!" Donatello exclaimed triumphantly, stepping back to admire his handiwork. In actuality, all he had done was tape a piece of mistletoe to the ceiling near the living room, but hey, getting the silly plant was more difficult than people thought. Smiling Donatello nodded, everything was going to plan. Now all he had to do was wait for April to arrive and-

"Whatcha doin' Donnie?" Donatello grimaced as he heard his younger brother's voice. Of course. How could he have forgotten them? Donatello fought the urge to stomp and let out a yell of agitation. He was so stupid! How was he supposed to get any peace and quiet with April if his brothers were going to be around to annoy them? Sighing, Donatello turned to the little orange clad ninja. Might as well explain.

"So this stuff has some sort of magic Christmas power that makes the people under it kiss?" Michelangelo asked wondrously, gazing up at the small plant in awe after his older brother finished his explanation. Donatello rolled his eyes.

"Well, yes, the people kiss but-" Don didn't get the chance to finish before Mikey dashed off. A second later he happily returned, dragging an unwilling and complaining angry turtle with him.

"What the shell is it, you dope?" Raphael growled, glaring at the youngest turtle brother. Michelangelo simply ignored his brother and continued to drag him along until he was positioned perfectly underneath the mistletoe. Snickering, the little turtle joined his brother and stood there gleefully. Silence ensued and for the next few moments no one moved a muscle.

"What exactly are we waiting for here?" Raphael asked, impatiently crossing his arms. Mikey frowned an looked up at the plant hanging from the ceiling before turning to his genius of a brother.

"It's not working Donnie!" Michelangelo whined, pointing at the plant accusingly, "I think it's broken." Donatello sighed.

"It's not broken, it isn't magic. The people who stand under it kiss because it's the tradition, not because of 'Christmas power'."

"Oooohhh," Mikey let out brightly in understanding. Raphael, however, blanched at his brother's explanation of the plant.

"Wait, what was that about kissin'?" The red masked turtle didn't get an actual answer as Michelangelo leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. Raphael let out a yell of anger and disgust, running at his cheek furiously, as if trying to wipe the feel of the kiss. Breathing heavily in fury, he turned his narrowed eyes at the orange clad turtle who only smiled cheekily back at him.

"YOU. ARE. SO. DEAD!" With a roar, the hotheaded turtle began to chase the small teen around the room, cursing loudly. Donatello moved out of harm's way and simply watched the exchange in amusement, chuckling quietly.

"Hey Donnie, what's going on?" Donatello stiffened at the sudden voice and turned to see a pretty redhead standing next to him, her face lit up with a smile.  
"GAH! Oh! Uh, April, hi! When did you get here?" April shrugged and smiled, keeping her eyes on the chase.

"Just now. The door was open so I let myself in. Hope you don't mind," she said, looking up at the tall masked turtle. Donatello shook his head.  
"No! No, it's fine, it's...just...uh," Donatello let his words trail off as he slowly looked up, his eyes widening. Confused, April followed his gaze and let her mouth hang open when she realized what he was staring at.

"Um, is that...?" Donatello nodded and swallowed hard. Blue and brown locked on to each other, and suddenly, nothing mattered anymore. It was a candy cane repeat. Once again, hearts began to thump wildly as they moved closer together. Shaking slightly, Donatello placed his hands gingerly on April's shoulders, gripping her lightly. Both teens were blushing so hard, they were sure it was going to remain permanently painted on their faces. Scrunching her eyes shut, April took the initiative and leaned forward slightly, leaving the rest to Donatello. The said turtle, who was trying to remember how to breathe at that moment in time, began to slide his eyes shut as well. They were so close again. Just a little closer...

Donatello halted abruptly when he felt something feather-like land on his head. Eyes popping open, he slowly took his hands off April and reached up. Bringing his hand back into his line of sight, he froze.

"OH, COME ON!" Donatello exclaimed angrily. Snapping her eyes open, April looked to see Donatello glaring at a crumpled piece of mistletoe on the ground, and Raphael and Michelangelo were no where in sight. Realizing that she was staring, Donatello turned and smiled sheepishly at her.

"So, um, I guess I'll just, uh, go to my lab..." he said awkwardly, turning to leave. He had only taken a step before he was suddenly pulled back, two small hands gripping his large one tightly. He was about to ask what was wrong, when in one swift motion, April pressed her lips lightly to his in a chaste kiss. A second later she pulled away, blushing heavily. Looking up into his dazed expression, she smiled shyly.

"We don't always need the mistletoe," she said slyly. Donatello only stared at her for a minute, frozen, before his face suddenly exploded into a bright shade of strawberry red. He stuttered, trying to form a sentence, or at the very least, a word, but failed, only succeeding in mumbling incoherently. Then, he fainted, falling onto the floor and knocking out cold, a goofy smile etched onto his face. April, who had been watching the entire process in shock, began to laugh.

No, mistletoe most defiantly wasn't needed.


	4. Scarves

Ch.4: Scarves

April stood with Donatello laying at her feet for a minute or two before she realized that he had indeed fainted and he wasn't going to get up any time soon. She sighed and looked around; she wasn't going to be able to pick him up and take him to his room by herself. Looking around though, it was clear that his brothers weren't around to help her out. April bit her bottom lip and glanced at the turtle on the floor. She could just leave him there to get help, in fact, her mind argued, it was perfectly fine and logical. But something within her just couldn't seem to part with the purple masked ninja at the moment. Sighing, April was about to turn to leave when a sudden voice stopped her.

"Under normal circumstances, I would inquire as to why my son is passed out on the floor, however, seeing as how you are standing next to him, I can safely assume that some sort of affection was shared." April turned to see a large, elderly looking rat whose eyes sparkled with hidden amusement.

"Oh! Master Splinter, hello!" April greeted hastily, giving him a small, clumsy bow, "Yes, well, um, you see, what happened was-" Splinter held up a paw to silence the rambling girl.

"It is quite alright, Miss O'Neil," he said, "You do not need to explain." April smiled at him gratefully, then looked back to the purple masked teen still on the floor.

"Do you mind helping me get Donnie to the couch? I don't want to leave him on the floor," April asked, looking up to Splinter and pointing to the turtle on the ground. The elderly rat opened his mouth to respond when a new third voice suddenly interjected.

"Guys! We need to get moving! I was just out and I saw... Why is Donnie passed out on the floor?"

"That's not important right now, Leo," April said quickly, "What's wrong? What's the emergency?"

"Oh! Right!" Leonardo exclaimed, getting back into leader mode, "Raph! Mikey! Let's go! It's time to kick some Kraang!" Loud whoops of joy filled the lair as the final two turtle brothers came barreling into the room, grinning and ready for battle.

"Look after him for us will you April?" Leonardo asked, nodding at Donatello's limp form. April saluted in an affirmative response. Leonardo smiled before returning to serious ninja mode and darting out of the room, his two younger brothers following closely at his heels.

"Well then, shall I help you move him?" Splinter asked, already moving toward his fallen son.

"Yes, please," April confirmed, giving her attention back to the aging rat. Together the two picked the teen turtle up off of the floor and moved him to the couch. April thanked the turtles' guardian, who then smiled and left the two teens alone again. Finding a blanket, April draped it over Donatello's sleeping form, being careful not to wake him. Then she settled down on a chair next to him, deciding to wait there until he woke. She didn't have to wait long, for less than five minutes later, he began to stir.

"Uuugghhh...Wha...?" The boy sat up slowly, trying to get his hazy eyes to focus.

"Hey, Donnie," April greeted warmly, "How're you feeling?" Donatello blinked, and suddenly he was able to focus again. Then he remembered exactly why he had passed out in the first place.

"APRIL!" he squeaked out girlishly before clearing his throat, "Uh, I'm fine, perfectly fine, never felt better! Hahaha..." He averted his gaze from hers, knowing that he was blushing horribly. He tried to remind himself that the kiss had been a friendly one, done out of tradition. It wasn't a big deal.

_"Aw shell, who am I kidding? That kiss _was _a big deal. It was the most wonderful, magical moment of my life..."_ Donatello sighed dreamily, forgetting that the object of his affections was with him for a moment. Noticing the sudden glazed look in his eyes, April frowned.

"Donnie? Are you sure you're okay?" She asked worriedly. The sound of her voice seemed to snap him out of it, as he immediately turned his attention back to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he grinned, showing off the gap in his teeth. A sudden thought struck him, he hadn't seen or heard his brothers at all. "Hey, April, where are the guys?"

"Oh! That's right!" April exclaimed, " Leo found some Kraang while he was out, so-"

"What?! Where?" Donatello asked, pushing the blanket off of him and getting up.

"He didn't say, but-"

"That's fine, I'll just give one of them a call on the T-phone," Donatello said briskly, finding his bo staff and putting it in its place on his back. He was about to take off when a hand stopped him.

"Wait! You just got up, you shouldn't go charging into battle!" April said, looking up at him.

"I'm fine, April," Donatello replied firmly, taking a light hold of the girl's shoulders, "Besides, fighting the Kraang might help us find out more about where your dad is." April sighed and looked into the turtle's warm, reassuring eyes. Biting her lower lip, she removed the yellow scarf she had been wearing and gingerly placed it around his neck.

"It's really cold out tonight," she muttered quietly, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer to her, "If you're going to be out there, then at least stay warm, okay?" Donatello smiled and pulled her close, placing his head on top of hers as he squeezed her tightly, holding her for a while. Then, he pulled away, and with one last reassuring smile, he was gone. April sighed and decided to head back home.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about him being cold.


	5. Christmas Tree

{A/N:} MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

* * *

Ch. 5: Christmas Tree

"We're really sorry April," Leonardo said again, apologizing for what the girl believed was the twentieth time.

"Leo, it's fine!" April scolded, "You don't have to keep apologizing. It's not your fault that the Kraang didn't have any info."

"Yeah, but-"

"It. Was not. Your fault."

"Ya might not wanna annoy her any more than ya already have, Captain Fearless," came a voice from behind a comic book, "Ya know how scary mother hens can get." Michelangelo snickered, though he didn't tear his eyes away from his game, his fingers clicking on the buttons of his control expertly. April rolled her eyes, sighing in agitation. She decided to ignore the brothers' teasing, choosing to instead focus her attention on getting the medium sized plastic tree in her hands out of its box. She turned to the blue clad turtle who was standing next to her.

"Instead of apologizing, why don't you help me out with setting up the tree while Donnie works on the lights?" Leonardo nodded, a confused look on his face as he took the box from April and held onto it tightly.

"So what's the point of decorating a tree for Christmas?" he asked as the ginger girl pulled the tree free from its cardboard prison.

"Honestly?" April grunted, "I don't know." She let out a small noise as she stumbled a few steps back, fake branches in her arms. Giving a happy smile, she laid the tree's stand on the ground and began to piece the tree together.

"So what you're sayin' is, you're puttin' up a fake tree in our home for absolutely no reason?" Raphael's voice came again.

"No, I'm putting the tree up to get you guys into the Christmas spirit," April responded, trying to straighten the crooked branches.

"We're ninjas, April, we don't need to take part in Christmas traditions," Leonardo threw in, speaking in a logical tone of voice.

"Exactly. You guys are constantly training and fighting bad guys. Don't you want to take a break and do something different?" Leonardo was about to respond, when his red clad brother finally looked up from his comic and threw his older brother a look, adding a shake of his head. Taking the hint, Leo quickly closed his mouth and nodded in agreement with the teenage girl, a smile plastered onto his face.

"Guys, guys! I fixed the lights!" Donatello came rushing in from his lab at that moment, an excited smile on his face and a string of lights in his hands.

"Awesome job, Donnie!" April let out gleefully, running over and taking the lights from him, "Now the tree won't look so plain until I can get some ornaments."

"Alright folks," Michelangelo said finally turning off his game to join the other three teens, "Just step aside and let me work my magic."

"Magic? You mean your ability to screw things up? Cuz lemme tell ya Mikey, that ain't magic. That's natural talent."

"Thanks!" Michelangelo replied brightly. Then he frowned as he realized what his hotheaded brother had said to him. "Hey!"

"Sorry Mikey!" Raphael grinned, "Sometimes, you just make it too easy."

"Ha ha very funny Raph," The orange clad turtle said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "I meant my artistic talents." Grabbing the lights from April, he took one look at the plastic tree before setting to work. He darted left and right, placing the lights wherever he saw fit. It had been less than a minute until he paused, his hands lights-free.

"It that all you got? I need some more," he said, sounding disappointed. Donatello quickly perked his younger brother up again.

"Don't worry, I have some more in my lab," he turned, " Wait here a sec, l'll go get them."

"Wait!" April called before he could leave, "I'll go with you. You'll probably need help untangling them."

"Oh, um, sure, okay," he grinned nervously, leading the girl to his lab and away from his three chuckling brothers. The two weaved their way through the lair, arriving at their gadget filled destination in a short span of time.

"Okay, where are the lights?" April smiled, blue eyes scanning the semi-organized room.

"Uuummm, they should be near the desk, that's where I was working on them," Donatello said thoughtfully, a hand on his chin.

"Alright then! Let's start looking," April lead the purple masked ninja to his desk, where they began moving around papers. April frowned as their search heeded no results.

"Are you sure you left them here Donnie?" April asked, slightly frustrated.

"I'm sure I left them here," Donatello muttered, looking under another stack of papers, "I don't understand how..." The tall teen glanced down, catching a twinkle in his gaze. "Aha! Found them!" Donatello grabbed the string and pulled hard. What he failed to realize, was that the lights had been around April's legs, and when he pulled, they became entangled around her.

"Donnie, wait!-" But her warning came too late. The second she moved to try to stop the turtle teen, April lost her balance and fell, face first. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never came. In fact all she felt was a sudden, quick pain on her lips, and then, it was soft and comforting. She felt something strong but comfortable underneath her, and she wondered what had happened. Slowly she opened her eyes, and found herself staring directly into brown. Her mind kick started back into working function as she pieced together what had just happened. She fell. Donatello jumped in to save her from falling. She fell onto Donatello. And she was pretty sure she was kissing him.

Craning her neck back a bit, April removed her lips from his, leaving him with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. The two teens stayed in that position for a while, both of them simply frozen. Finally, April decided to be the one to break the trance; it was obvious that Donatello wasn't going to.

"Um, we should uh, get these lights to Mikey," April said awkwardly after clearing her throat, "He's probably getting impatient."

"Huh? Oh! Oh, y-yeah, you're probably right." The two then shifted around, getting the lights disentangled from around their legs. They stood up and walked back to the other turtles with the lights in April's hands in silence, both refusing to let their gazes meet.

"Finally!" Leonardo exclaimed as the two returned, "I was beginning to think something happened. Uummm, is...everything alright?" Leonardo asked, looking from April to Donatello. They were acting a bit...strange. Well, April was anyway. His socially awkward brother was always a little strange.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Leo," April answered through a slightly forced grin. The oldest turtle brother took note of this, but decided not to press the issue further. He knew that if something serious had happened and she was upset, she wouldn't hesitate to tell him.

"Hey, hey! More lights! Sweet, gimme!" In a second, the rest of the lights vanished from the human girl's hands. Continuing from where he left off, Michelangelo zipped around the tree in a blur, rearranging the lights accordingly. When he was finally satisfied, he stepped back, throwing his arms out wide in presentation.

"Ta-da!" He sang out, showing off the tree to April and his brothers.

"Wait hold on," Donatello said crouching down, "Let's turn this thing on." He inserted the end of the lights into the outlet, and the tree sparked into life, filling the room with different colors of bright, colorful lights. Michelangelo had somehow arranged the lights so that they crossed over each other in an intricate design while spelling out the word "ninjas" in the center of the fake plastic branches. Leonardo let out a low whistle while April gasped in delight.

"Oh Mikey, it's beautiful!" She exclaimed happily. Both Leonardo and Donatello nodded in agreement.

"Looks good bro," Leonardo praised.

"Awesome job, Mikey," Donatello said. Raphael, who had picked up on Michelangelo's praise, finally got up from the couch and joined everyone else in front of the tree. He looked the fake foliage up and down, studying it. Then, his face broke into a grin.

"This ain't half bad," He concluded. Turning, he grabbed his youngest brother and put him in a friendly head-lock, "Nice job, half-pint." Michelangelo laughed, struggling and trying to get out of his brother's grasp. Leonardo joined in, laughing as he tried to help the little orange ninja out of the red one's hold. Accepting the challenge with a grin, the powerful turtle took hold of his older brother, continuing the roughhousing.

April was watching the entire scene from the sidelines, an amused grin on her face. Suddenly she jolted as she felt a warm sensation envelop her hand. Looking down, she saw smooth green where her hand should have been. Following the green, she discovered that Donatello was standing next to her, and that he had somehow gained the courage to hold her hand. Looking closely, her vision picked up dark pink on his cheeks. He wasn't looking at her, choosing to instead watch as his brothers continued their playful fight. She continued to look at him, and suddenly, her heart sped up a bit.

"It really is beautiful," he muttered quietly so that only she could hear. April tore her gaze away from him and turned it back on the fighting turtles, trying to ignore her irregular heart.

"It's kinda small though, and really new," April said sheepishly, just as quiet.

"But it can grow."

And with those words, April wasn't quite sure if he had been talking about the Christmas tree.


	6. Eggnog

Ch.6: Eggnog

After the playful fight was broken up, Michelangelo decided that they needed to celebrate the lighting of the tree.

"Donnie! Can I borrow your laptop, please?" He asked, clasping his hands together as he looked at his older brother. Donatello looked at the little orange ninja and smiled.

"No problem, Mikey boy," he replied, heading toward his lab. A few seconds later he was back, the homemade device in his hands. Handing the computer to his younger brother, he went to join Raphael, Leonardo, and April in the living room. The clacking of keys filled the room as Michelangelo typed into the search bar.

"Aha!" he exclaimed happily a few seconds later,"Here we go! I'll be back in a bit you guys, don't come into the kitchen! Especially you, Leo."

"A guy sets one toaster on fire..." Leonardo muttered quietly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at nothing as he slouched a bit in his seat.

"I'll help you Mikey," April offered, getting up from the couch to follow him into the kitchen. Michelangelo held up a hand to stop her.

"Thanks but no thanks, April!" He smiled, wagging a finger at her, "It's gonna be a surprise." Then he disappeared with the computer, vanishing into the kitchen. April sat back down and looked at the three remaining brothers, worry visible in her sky colored irises.

"Why does it worry me when he says that?" His brothers shrugged.

"It's Mikey," Donatello replied casually, keeping his focus on the tv, "Nearly everything he says worries us." Although she wasn't really satisfied with that answer, April chose to sit back down between the blue and purple masked turtles, following their lead and focusing on Captain Ryan.

For the next half hour, there wasn't a word from the kitchen, only light humming and the murmur of different kitchen utensils. Then came a shout for their human companion. Looking around at the brothers, April gave a light grimace, not quite knowing what to expect from the hyperactive orange ninja.

"Um, I'll be right back guys," April said, getting up an moving from her seat on the couch.

"Good luck," Raphael called out as she exited the room and headed to the kitchen. His two brothers shot him a glare, and April turned to stick her tongue out at him before stepping out.

"Aaaaaaappriiiiiiiiilllllllll llllll!" Michelangelo's voice came again, louder this time.

"Calm down, Mikey, I'm here," April said reassuringly as he popped into her view. He held a mixing bowl in one hand, a whisk in the other. His smile immediately brightened when he saw her enter the kitchen.

"Awesome, you're here!" He exclaimed gleefully, putting the bowl and whisk down.

"Yup I'm here!...So, what exactly am I here for?" April asked him, her confusion evident in her eyes. Michelangelo suddenly thrust a glass into her face, a strong, milky smell coming from it.

"I need you to try this," He said hastily, still shoving the glass at her. April backed up a bit, trying to get a better look at the cup.

"Riiight... What exactly is this?" April asked skeptically, cautiously taking the glass from his hands. Bright blue eyes stared at her incredulously from behind the orange mask.

"What do you mean? It's eggnog!" He told her, voice laced with confusion, "You know, the Christmas drink!" April gave him a smile, realizing that he had expected her to know what the frothy drink was.

"Oh, yeah, of course! I knew that, Mikey. It looks great," April said casually. She took a small whiff of the dairy drink, "So, um, why do I need to be the one to taste test it?"

"I need you to make sure that my eggnog lives up to the Christmas standards!" Michelangelo answered, "You're the only one who knows the traditions and stuff, and I wanna make sure that my eggnog does the standards justice!" He finished determinedly, clenching his fists. He then turned to April, looking at her with excitement. April took one look at the little orange clad turtle, and sighed. She wasn't about to say no to him when he was looking at her like that.

_"Well, down the hatch,"_ she thought, clenching her eyes shut. She downed the drink in one fell swoop, emptying the large glass. The drink didn't taste that bad, but it had a strange, bitter flavor that left a nasty aftertaste in her mouth. She waited a second to see if she would explode or mutate or something of the sort, but all she felt was a warm, pleasant feeling spreading in her gut. Growing used to the taste, April turned to the inpatient teen with a funny, lopsided smile on her face.

"Tastes great, Mikey," she praised, handing him the glass, "Got anymore?" Letting out an excited whoop, the orange clad ninja snatched the cup away from her and refilled it, handing it back. April drained the glass just as quickly as she had the first, and immediately asked for a third, taking a seat as she did so.

"Wow, wait until the guys try this!" Michelangelo squealed excitedly as April polished off yet another glass of the eggnog. Suddenly she began to giggle uncontrollably, and Michelangelo noticed that her cheeks were flushed bright red.

"Hey...you okay April?" Michelangelo asked cautiously, holding an arm out to help the giggly girl up from where she was sitting at the kitchen counter. However, she surprised him when she immediately slapped his hand away from her, scowling as she did so.

"No! I don't want you, I want Donnie! Where is he?" April pouted, folding her arms across her chest. She glared in what Michelangelo assumed was meant to be an intimidating way, but he found her to be quite adorable at the moment.

"Um, well, he's in the living room with everyone else, but...are you okay?" Michelangelo asked again, not knowing how to respond to how childlike April was acting. The teenage girl didn't respond to him. She quickly stood up and left the kitchen, Michelangelo following closely behind her. April entered the room stumbling a bit, causing the three turtles residing in it to immediately focus on her. She looked around the room, trying to get her hazy mind to focus. Michelangelo came in a second later, shrugging at his older brothers and looking confused.

"Donnie!" April exclaimed happily, running to the confused purple clad turtle the second she caught sight of him. She rushed to the couch, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. Donatello let out a squeak of surprise and embarrassment as the pretty redhead nuzzled him affectionately. His face turned a bright shade of red, and his eyes grew wide as he stiffened, not even taking notice of his brothers' laughter.

"A-April? W-w-what are you d-doing?" Donatello stuttered, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. Instead of answering, April only looked up at the gaping turtle for a second before pressing her mouth to his in a kiss. Donatello was shocked frozen. This kiss was different than the previous ones they had shared. This one was deeper, more sensual, more mind-blowing...but...something was off. Pulling away from the girl of his dreams, Donatello studied her closely, his hands firmly on her shoulders and their faces only an inch apart. Brown eyes scrutinized the human girl, making note of her flushed cheeks and unfocused sky colored eyes.

"Doooonnnniiiiiiieeeeee," April whined, trying to get close to him again. It was then that he realized what was wrong. Her breath smelled strongly of alcohol. She was drunk. He immediately stood, trying to ignore the intoxicated girl as she clung to his waist. He turned to his younger brother, his face serious and his eyes grave despite the blush that stained his cheeks.

"Mikey what did April drink? I need to know right now."

"Nothing! All she had was the eggnog I made, that's it!" Michelangelo exclaimed worriedly.

"Mikey, I need to know, did you put any alcohol in the eggnog you made?" Donatello asked, looking directly into the orange clad turtle's bright blue eyes.

"The recipe said to add it in, so I grabbed one of Master Splinter's sake bottles and-"

"You put ALCOHOL in the eggnog and gave it to April?!" Leonardo asked incredulously, glaring at Michelangelo. Raphael only gave a shake of his head. The red and blue clad turtles had been able to piece together what was wrong with their human companion from the snippets of information that had leaked out.  
"How much sake did you put in the eggnog, and how much did April drink?" Leonardo continued, trying to control his anger.

"She had about four glasses maybe? A-and the recipe I found online didn't specify how much alcohol to put in so, I just emptied the bottle...," Michelangelo rushed out, his voice steadily growing quiet, "Was...was that bad?" Donatello slapped a hand over his face while Leonardo groaned. Raphael simply let out a dry chuckle.

"Bad? BAD?!" Donatello seethed, "First off, how could you steal Master Splinter's sake? Secondly, and more importantly, April is DRUNK. Things aren't bad. They're worse!" Michelangelo cringed, not knowing how to amend the situation.

"Sorry..." the orange clad turtle let out softly, looking miserable. Donatello sighed as he took in his brother's pitiful expression. He knew Michelangelo didn't mean any harm, he just wished that his brother would think a little more.

"I know it wasn't your fault Mikey," Donatello bit out, feeling frustrated.

"So now what? I'm pretty sure we can't send April home the way she is, her aunt would flip!" Raphael said, emerald eyes narrowing.

"The only thing we can do is tell Master Splinter what happened," The turtle leader sighed.

"There is no need, Leonardo," came a voice, "I have heard everything." The old anthropomorphic rat came walking into the room, one claw stroking his thin beard.

"Donatello, carry Miss O'Neil to the spare room and see if you can send her aunt a message with her phone." He commanded briskly, pointing to the girl who was beginning to doze off.

"Hai, Sensei," Donatello responded obidiently. He quickly grabbed the drunk girl, holding her securely with one hand on her shoulders and the other right under her knees. Her head lolled into his chest, and he exited the room as fast as he dared to he got to the spare room, he entered easily, and set to work on putting the girl to bed. He removed her shoes along with her headband and ponytail. Then he tucked her underneath the blankets, trying to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.

"I love you, Donatello," He heard her voice say, and although the words were a bit slurred, the way she said it caused him to pause and take a sharp breath. She sounded so sure, so serious. His heartbeat sped up, but he knew it was only the alcohol in her system that was speaking. He quickly moved away from the bed, standing at the doorway instead. Before leaving though, he turned around one last time, and looked into her blue eyes. They were still hazy and unfocused. Donatello gave the girl a pained smile.

"I love you too, April," He muttered quietly. He switched off the lights in the room and left quickly, closing the door softly behind him.

_I just wish you knew I meant it...  
_


	7. Family

**{A/N:}** Remember children, April says no underage drinking!

* * *

Ch.7: Family

When April awoke, she felt awful. Her head was killing her, and she felt nauseous. She sat up slowly and tried to get her hazy mind to focus. She tried to remember what had happened to her, and where she was, but her mind kept drawing a blank. She let out a small groan as her head throbbed painfully. Since when did thinking hurt?

"Oh, you're awake," A familiar voice said in surprise. April turned to see a tall figure in the doorway, brown eyes watching her in worry.

"How are you feeling?" Donatello asked, moving to her side.

"My head is killing me, and I kinda feel like I'm about to puke all of my internal organs out, but other than that, I'm feeling pretty good," April said, giving the turtle a weak smile. Donatello let out a light chuckle.

"You know, I seem to recall a scenario kinda like this that happened a few days ago," Donatello mused playfully, "Only that time, I was the one knocked out cold." April let out a small giggle, but immediately stopped, wincing as the motion made her head hurt even more. Donatello stood up in alarm.

"Oh shell, sorry April," he apologized, moving quickly, "I'll go get you some medicine for your headache, take it easy until I get back." Then he was gone, leaving her alone in the dark room. The girl sighed, feeling a bit depressed. She wasn't sure why, but the second she was alone, she felt just that: lonely. This depression wasn't like her, it had to a lingering affect of the alcohol. April let out a tiny sniffle, feeling as though she had the world on her shoulders. She missed her father. They hadn't been able to get any information out of the Kraang, not a single clue. Tears pricked her eyes as she realized that her father wouldn't be with her on Christmas. The closest and most beloved family she had was gone.

"Okay, April, I have the medi-" Donatello stopped the second he walked in, seeing the teenage girl's haunched form sitting on the bed. Her knees were drawn up into her chest, and her face was down, covered by locks of fiery orange. He heard quiet sniffles come from her direction, and his trained brown eyes caught sight of her shoulders shaking ever so slightly. He was at her side in a heartbeat, sitting as close to her as he dared on the bed.  
"April? April, what's wrong?" Donatello questioned in a soft murmur, "Does something hurt? Do you feel sick?" He tried to get her to lift her head, but she refused to move, choosing to instead speak from the position she was in.

"I...I miss him..."April said in between her small sobs. The intelligent turtle immediately caught on to what was making the object of his affections upset.  
"April," Donatello said in a firm, commanding tone. This time, the girl looked up at him. The sight tore at his heart. Her hair was in disarray, a few tangles in it. Her face was pale and her cheeks were tear stained. And her eyes, the ones he adored so much, the ones as bright as the bluest sky, were now filled with rain.

"Come here," he coaxed softly, opening his arms wide. The distraught girl didn't hesitate at all, wrapping her arms around the turtle's neck and burying her face in the crook of his neck as she moved as close as she could to him. Donatello wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a powerful, comforting grasp as her small frame was wracked by continuous sobs. The two stayed like that for a while, until finally, April's sobs dwindled into shaky breaths and a hiccup or two. Donatello rubbed her back in small, slow circles, not daring to move any more than that as he whispered soothing words.

"I know you miss him, April," Donatello muttered, "But I promise you that we'll get him back. I'll do whatever it takes, even if I have to take his place. As long as it keeps you from crying." His words only made her cling to him tighter, as if he would just vanish if she let go, and a whole new batch of tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of the tall, gentle, terrapin being gone.

"Don't say that!" the girl said angrily, though she didn't look up at him, "I love my dad, and I would do anything to get him back. But...it would hurt just as much if you disappeared instead." Although she couldn't see it, he smiled, his grin accompanied by a pink blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks April," he muttered quietly, "Do...do you want to take your medicine now? I'll leave so that you can get some rest." He shifted to get off of the bed, but the action only made her squeal in protest and readjust her already tight grip.

"No!" she exclaimed almost frantically, "Please don't leave me! I...I don't want to be alone right now." The girl's pleas made the turtle immediately cease any attempt to get up. Instead, he moved back and leaned against the wall, leaving a space for April between his legs. The human girl took the seat, her back leaning against his strong but comfortable plastron, his chin resting on her head as he wrapped his arms across her waist, holding her in a warm embrace from behind. April placed her hands on top of his and wriggled around a bit, trying to be as close as she could to him without getting uncomfortable. The boy let her do as she pleased, content with just being able to hold her. It wasn't until he was sure she was comfortable against him that he decided to break the silence.

"You know that you have more family than your dad," he mumbled quietly to her. April sighed, her headache and nausea exchanged for an irregular heartbeat and pink cheeks at the intimate position she was in.

"I know," she replied, her voice just as soft, "But I'm not as close to anyone else in my family. My aunt is nice, and she tries her best, but she just doesn't understand."

"No, April, when I said family, I meant mine," Donatello said, trying to get her to understand, "We all love you, April. Splinter, Leo, Mikey, even Raph. We're here for you, we'll always be here for you. We may not be human. We may not be blood related. But the one thing I do know, is that we're family. And now, you're part of this family too. You'll always have a home, April. You'll always have a family." April had to squeeze her eyes shut to prevent new tears from streaming down her face. She cuddled into the purple masked turtle even closer.

"Thank you, Donnie," she murmured softly. Donatello smiled and buried his face into her hair.

"You're welcome," he responded quietly. The two teens stayed like that for a while, simply enjoying each others presence, until April glanced at her watch.  
"Oh my gosh, it's getting late!" she exclaimed, "I have to get home." April craned her neck, looking into brown eyes wistfully. She really didn't want to move from the mutant turtle. She felt warm, and comfortable, and safe, in his powerful yet gentle embrace. His arms provided a secure haven for her, one she had no desire of leaving. Sighing, April reluctantly got up from her place with the purple clad ninja. He seemed to have trouble letting go of her, but did so when he realized that she needed to leave. He got up as well, but kept a hand on hers.

"Sorry Donnie," April said apologetically staring up into the turtle's warm eyes, "But I really should get going."

"I know," Donatello sighed in defeat, "You should leave before your aunt really starts to worry." April nodded before glancing at their joined hands, squeezing his green one a bit tighter.

"Thank you," April said a bit nervously, "For cheering me up. And reminding me that I have a family. A new one. One I love, a lot." April grinned up at him, causing him to blush heavily. Slowly, April withdrew her hand from his, waving as she left the room. Before leaving the lair, April made sure to hug all the other turtles, along with Splinter, thanking them for everything they had done for her. Splinter and Leonardo accepted and returned the embrace politely. Raphael was stiff and awkward, but didn't push her away. Michelangelo squeezed her tightly, crying and apologizing a thousand times for getting her drunk. She had to reassure him multiple times that she was fine, and that she wasn't mad at him. After waving all the lair's residents goodbye, she set off for home.

April thought of the conversation she had with Donatello the entire way home. She smiled as she thought of family. In her mind popped her father, but he wasn't alone. There was her aunt, along with some of her cousins and close relatives. Then as she thought more, a new set of faces appeared. A furry one, with a thin gray beard, his expression serious, but his eyes wise and welcoming, having a soft fatherly quality. Then three smiling, green faces popped up, each different, but all of them having the same kind, heroic, noble spark in their eyes.

April frowned suddenly as her mind backtracked to her last thought. Three? Someone was missing. She saw firm, commanding blue. Temperamental, passionate red. And bright, friendly orange. But where was the intelligent, endearing purple? Where was the tall, thin figure with smooth green skin? The wooden bo staff that had saved her on countless occasions? The warm brown eyes and gap-toothed smile? April put her hand to her chin, blue eyes narrowing in thought. She knew she loved Donatello just as much as she loved his brothers, his guardian, her aunt, and her father.

Then why was it that he didn't come into her mind when she thought of family?


	8. Presents

Ch.8: Presents

"Hey, Brainiac," Raphael called from his place on Donatello's bed as he watched his brother work on a new project, " I've been meanin' to ask you something for a while..."

"What Raph?" Donatello sighed in exasperation.

"Have you given our stubborn little gingersnap her scarf back yet?" Donatello stopped working in order to look at his older brother, whose face had a smug look on it. Glaring at him, Donatello simply went back to rearranging and connecting wires.

"No, I haven't," the purple masked turtle said briskly. The red clad turtle raised a brow, lips curled in a smirk.

"What is this? Professor Chivalrous is stealing from his princess?" Raphael gasped, emerald eyes widening with mock surprise. Donatello rolled his eyes at his brother's teasing, but he fumbled a bit with the wires in his hands.

"No, it's just that stuff's been happening so I haven't gotten around to it," Donatello responded, focusing on the wires in his hands, "Plus, it gets really cold at night..." Raphael let out a snort at his brother's last tidbit of information.

"Right. You're such a wuss when it gets cold," Raphael teased, moving from his spot, "Whatever. I don't really care." The temperamental turtle then left his scientific brother to his work in search of something more amusing. Donatello sighed, glad for the peace, but he found that he couldn't really focus. His brother's words kept repeating in his head. He knew he should give the sweet redhead her scarf back, but he really didn't want to part with it. Not because he was a creep or a stalker or anything, but because the cold didn't bother him as much whenever he wore it. Leaving the unfinished project on his desk, Donatello left his room, which also doubled as his lab, and decided to instead join his brother in the living room.

"Finally finish with...whatever it was you were inventing?" Leonardo asked as he caught sight of the approaching teen.

"Nah, just taking a break," Donatello replied, plopping down on the couch in front of the tv. Leonardo turned to look at his intellectual brother in shock.

"A break? Are you okay?" the blue clad leader asked, half serious, half teasing. Donatello only rolled his eyes and changed the channel in response.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Leonardo exclaimed angrily, blue eyes glaring at the turtle on the couch.

"It's a re-run, Leo," Donatello stated simply, "One that you've already seen. Ten times." Leonardo only grumbled, crossing his arms as he decided to watch whatever was now on the screen. Donatello smirked, getting comfortable on the couch as he zeroed in on the anchorwoman on the slightly fuzzy screen.

"We'll have more on the story later. Now let's go to Elizabeth with the weather, Elizabeth?"

"Thank you, Amanda," a new woman said. She was a pretty young brunette, dressed in a fine cream blouse and a black skirt. She was standing in front of a small map of New York, a smile plastered on her face.

"As you can see, folks, the temperature is low and will continue to drop, reaching the low twenties soon. We can expect a good amount of snow to fall tonight, and continue through the week, so bundle up, New York, and get ready for some snowy fun! Back to you, Amanda." As the scene changed back to the previous woman sitting at the desk, Donatello felt his mood fall.

"Snow...?" he muttered quietly, his mind drifting to a certain redhead who was missing a scarf. He heard Leonardo groan in front of him.

"Great. That's really gonna help during patrol tonight." Glancing at the clock in the room, the katana wielding turtle sighed. "Which is now. Let's go get the guys, Donnie. It's patrol time."

"Um, yeah, uh, listen you guys go on ahead without me, I'll catch up to you," Donatello said hastily, moving toward his lab.

"Wait, where are you going?" Leonardo asked in surprise, and slight annoyance.

"There's just something I have to take care of," the purple masked turtle said quickly, heading out with his bo staff strapped to his back. "Don't worry, I'll catch up to you!"

"Wait! Donnie! Come back here!" But the blue clad leader was shouting at air. His younger brother was already gone.

As Donatello moved about in the alleyways, he shivered. It was already freezing cold, and it seemed like the snow was about to start falling at any second. With his teeth beginning to chatter, the tall turtle moved even quicker, desperate to reach his destination and possibly get out of the cold for a bit. After spending some time leaping across rooftops, Donatello exhaled a puff of air in a sigh, realizing he had made it to his destination. Climbing the fire escape, the skilled ninja entered through a window, making no noise as he did so. The turtle reveled in the sudden warmth of the lot room a bit before greeting the human girl that had noticed him.

"Hey April," Donatello said sheepishly, giving her a gap-toothed grin. The teenager smiled back, happy surprise in her sky blue eyes.

"Hey Donnie," April said, giving the teen turtle a quick hug, "I didn't know you were coming. What's up?" Donatello was about to reply when something colorful caught his eye. He stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. Confused at his sudden silence, April followed his gaze, and let out a squeak when she realized what he was looking at. In a flash, April grabbed the object off of the floor, and opened her closet door, where Donatello caught sight of more colorful items. Then she quickly tossed the object in her hands into the closet with the others, slamming the closet door shut. Turning back to the confused terrapin, April laughed nervously, her cheeks a light shade of pink.

"So, um, what did you want again?" April asked, quickly changing the subject. Donatello looked at her with suspicion evident in his brown eyes, but he chose not to question her. It was obvious to him that she wanted to keep whatever was in her closet a secret.

"Okay, well, uh, I just came to give this back to you," Donatello shrugged, handing his human companion her sunny yellow scarf. She took it from him with a smile.

"Oh, thanks! I was actually going to ask for this back, it's really getting cold out," April let out gratefully, placing the scarf gently on her bed. While she was doing so, she happened to glance at the mutant turtle and noticed a look of disappoint on his face. Straightening up again, April frowned as she realized that he was gazing at her scarf, a longing look in his eyes.

"Donnie? You okay?" the girl asked, her voice laced with worry. The turtle snapped out of it when he heard her voice. He gave her a slightly forced grin.

"I'm fine, April," he lied, "Don't worry about it." April's frowned deepened, and she scowled.

"Don't you dare lie to me, Donatello," the redhead scolded angrily, placing her hands on her hips, "Tell me what's wrong." The addressed turtle turned his gaze to the floor, suddenly finding the carpet to be very interesting.

"It's really stupid, just forget about it," the teen said quickly, desperately trying to change the subject. He glanced up and winced as he found that the girl's glare had hardened. The intellectual turtle sighed, letting his shoulders droop. There was no way the redhead was going to let the subject drop, he realized.

"It's...it's just that your scarf is really warm," Donatello finally said, "I don't really know why, but out of all of my brothers, for some reason, the cold always hits me the hardest. I think it has something to do with the mutation. Ever since we were little, I was always the one who needed blankets and quilts, the other guys were perfectly fine. They're still fine, actually. Your scarf really helped me, the cold doesn't bother me when I wear it." When Donatello saw the mixture of concern and worry on her face, he quickly put on a smile.

"It's okay though," he said, putting on a brave front, "I've gotten through the cold before, it's nothing I can't handle." Still, despite his attempts to act indifferent, the girl couldn't erase the worry she felt. She was extremely protective of the purple masked ninja, especially since he had helped her so many times. She admitted to herself that she cared a bit more for him than his brothers, and she didn't like the thought of him being cold outside protecting the city. Especially when she knew she could do something about it. Sighing, April returned to her closet, opened it, and pulled out a box.

"Here," the girl smiled gently, handing Donatello the box. The ninja took the box, staring at it with confusion evident in his warm eyes.

"It's one of your presents," the teenage girl explained softly, "It's not Christmas yet, so I shouldn't be giving this to you, but you need it. Don't tell your brothers you got this early." She added, putting a finger to her lips and giving him a sly wink. The action caused the awkward scientist to blush, and he immediately glanced back down at his gift. He easily popped the box open, but he had to remove several different colored layers of thin paper to finally reveal the present. Freeing it from the box, he stretched the extremely soft purple wool out to reveal a knitted scarf. Holding it with both hands, he noticed that his name was on the end of it, knitted in elegant cursive writing with the same extra soft wool, only it was a sunny yellow color. Donatello's face broke out into a wide grin as he continued to stare at the scarf in his hands. April, however, squirmed with apprehension as she watched the teen open his present.

"Do you like it?" she asked hesitantly. Donatello looked up at her, happiness written all over his face.

"Like it?" he breathed out, "April, I love it. Did you make this yourself?" The girl gave him a shy nod in response, clasping her hands behind her back as she gazed up at him.

"I'm glad you like it, I'm not really that confident in my knitting skills," she moved as she talked, taking the scarf from his hands and placing it around his neck, "I made it short so you can wear it when you're fighting and the ends won't get caught in your bo." She explained as he stared at the ends that ghosted just above his plastron. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thanks April," he murmured into her hair.

"You're welcome," she responded softly, placing her hands on his chest and cuddling into him. They stayed that way for a while, until the warm atmosphere was interrupted by a shout of April's name from downstairs.

"Coming, Auntie!" April called back, reluctantly getting out of the turtle's comfortable embrace. Grabbing his hand in hers, they made their way to the window, gazing at each other for a moment.

"You should go," April said sadly, not really wanting him to leave. He squeezed her hand slightly.

"Yeah... thanks for again for the scarf," he said a bit awkwardly. April smiled at him, and brown eyes locked onto blue. Studying each other's gazes, both teens found themselves just watching each other. April suddenly felt so drawn to him, as if there was something she needed to tell him. She wanted to be close to him, just be with him. Brushing off the sudden strange feeling, she smiled up at him. Returning her grin, the purple clad turtle blushed heavily before suddenly bringing her hand up to his lips, placing a soft, gentle kiss against her knuckles, still looking directly into her sky colored irises. April suddenly found it a little harder to breathe as her pulse quickened, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. Then the teen was gone, vanishing into the night like the ninja he was. April stated out the window and smiled, gently resting her tingly hand against her heart.

She could say with one hundred percent certainty that he liked his present.


	9. Stars

**{A/N:}** Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all continue to support me this year as well! *bows* Please take care of me!

* * *

Ch.9: Stars

Donatello leapt from rooftop to rooftop, as snow began to fall, blushing bright red as he did so. He couldn't believe he had done that. Now his heart wouldn't stop pounding. As he finally caught sight of his brothers, he tried desperately to calm down and erase the blush painted on his cheeks.

"And where exactly have you been tonight?" Leonardo asked, dark blue eyes narrowing as he glanced at his brother from where he was kneeling on the ledge of the roof. Raphael stood behind the oldest turtle, arms folded across his chest as he glared at his younger brother, his face etched into a scowl. Michelangelo was seated cross-legged on the floor, looking up at his purple clad older brother with a pout.

"Um, you know, out..." Donatello said nervously, hoping that they would just drop the subject. No such luck.

"Where did you get the scarf?" the turtle leader continued, catching sight of the purple wool around his brother's neck. Donatello shifted beneath three different gazes.

"I...found it," he replied hesitantly, looking down at the rooftop because much like April's carpet, it was very interesting.

"You found it?" Leonardo asked skeptically, crossing his arms.

"Ooooo! Where, where? I want one!" Michelangelo exclaimed excitedly, waving his hands around in the air.

"Yeah, Genius, where'd ya find it?" Raphael repeated in a growl, making air quotes with his fingers as he spoke the word 'find'.

"Um, I found it...on...the...floor," Donatello let out lamely, looking everywhere but at them. Leonardo raised a brow, a frown still on his face.

"You found it on the floor?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes," came the meek reply.

"So lemme get this straight," Raphael said, moving toward his taller brother with anger evident on his face, "You found a soft, clean, perfect looking purple scarf on the streets of New York, and it just HAPPENED to have your name on it?!" The hotheaded turtle yelled, growing louder as he spoke.

"Yes...?" the purple clad turtle cowered.

"Lucky!" Michelangelo whined.

"Well guess what, princess? While you've been visiting your girlfriend, we've been out here in the cold! Doing. Our. Jobs!" Raphael seethed, tackling his younger brother. Despite the purple masked ninja's desperate attempts to escape, Raphael kept a firm hold on him, pinning him to the snow dusted floor painfully. Taking the pinned turtle's flailing arm, the red clad ninja twisted it, pulling it further the more his brother struggled and protested.

"OW! UNCLE! UNCLE!" Donatello yelped pathetically when Raphael gave a particularly sharp tug on the twisted arm.

"Hahaha! When I'm not the one Raph's hurting, it is really funny!" Michelangelo cackled happily, clapping his hands together in glee. Leonardo let out a laugh as well, taking enjoyment from his brother's deserved pain. If he was going to visit April, the least he could do was finish patrol first. He let Raphael calm down a bit before deciding to break up the one-sided fight.

"Alright Raph, that's enough," Leonardo said between chuckles, "I think he's learned his lesson." Grumbling, Raphael got up slowly, giving his brother's arm one last tug before letting him go. Donatello gave a sigh of relief and sat up, wincing as he rubbed his sore arm. He glared up at his smirking brothers as he stood, brushing the snow off of himself.

"Thanks for being gentle..." Donatello muttered sarcastically under his breath.

"Alright guys, let's finish up patrol and head home," Leonardo said happily. His brothers nodded, and the team moved along, finishing their patrol in record time, even with the snow beginning to pile up.

"Huh," Leonardo said in surprise when they were done, "We finished early. We've got some time to kill, guys." The other three turtles looked to their older brother with the same surprise written on their features.

"Cool, that means we can goof off for a while," Raphael said casually, his face breaking into a grin.

"Ooooo! I know! I know! Let's go visit April!" Michelangelo exclaimed suddenly, his eyes bright as he jumped up and down.

"No!" Donatello burst out. Then he saw his brothers' smug, knowing faces, and he quickly added, "I-I mean it's just that it's getting late. She's probably asleep already."

"It's ten on a Saturday Donnie, I'm pretty sure she's awake," Leonardo remarked, "Besides, it's not fair if you're the only one who gets to visit her." And with that, blurs of blue, red, and orange flew past Donatello's eyes.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he called, chasing after his brothers. The four turtles raced along the rooftops until they saw a familiar redhead on a roof, dressed in multiple layers along with a sunny yellow hat and matching scarf.

"April!" Michelangelo called out happily, giving the surprised girl a hug.

"Hey guys!" April greeted, "Man, what's with all the surprise visits today?"

"Donnie shouldn't be the only one who gets to visit you," Leonardo shrugged, "And we finished patrol early. But what are you doing out here?" April nudged a snow covered box on the floor with her foot.

"Well I was going to stargaze," the girl began, "But unfortunately, I didn't check the weather. Snow caught me off guard. Sucks, I really wanted to see the stars tonight." Looking up into the sky, Raphael snorted.

"Yeah, you're not gonna see any stars with those clouds in the way," then he gave a malicious grin, "Good thing you have your own personal one right here!" The red clad turtle then shoved his awkward younger brother in front of the confused girl. Sending a look to his other two brothers, they responded with a nod and matching smirks.

"A few nights ago when you got drunk and kissed him, Donnie wrote all about it in his diary after you left," Raphael snickered. Donatello stared at his brother in horror, a blush beginning to form on his face.

"I hope she kisses me like that again," Leonardo swooned in his best impression of his younger purple clad brother. Donatello blushed harder, trying to get his brothers to stop talking.

"Hey April! Wanna hear a story?" Michelangelo called out to the blushing but amused girl who nodded in response, "Once upon a time, four turtle brothers named Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello, who were five years old, were watching tv when the cartoon that was on ended, and a scary movie began." Donatello's eyes widened and he paled, knowing exactly where this story was headed.

"NO! Guys, no, please don't!" the purple masked teen begged, trying to chase his brothers down. They nimbly and easily dodged him, despite his desperate efforts.

"So Raphael dared his brothers to watch the movie, and they all agreed, knowing that whoever backed down would be labeled a wuss," Raphael continued, his smirk growing, "The four turtle brothers watched the entire movie, and then went to bed soon after it was over."

"At the time, the four brothers slept under one blanket," Leonardo joined in, "But that night, three of the brothers woke up to the sound of crying, and suddenly, they realized-"

"NO!" Donatello yelled out in terrified embarrassment.

"Donatello wet the bed!" Michelangelo howled in laughter. The other two turtle's began laughing hysterically, tears beginning to roll down their cheeks. Donatello had given up and simply stood there, his entire face burning in a blush.

"See April? Glows just like a star!" Raphael gasped out, and he and his brothers burst into a new round of laughter. As his brothers laughed, Donatello quickly glanced at the redhead. She was looking at him, trying to muffle her laughter by covering her mouth with her hand. As he looked into her eyes, he realized that the bright blue was shinning with amusement, happiness, and something else he couldn't identify that caused his heart to leap into his throat.

_"They look like stars," _Donatello thought suddenly. His brothers' laughter melted away into the background as the purple masked ninja just watched the teen girl. He didn't care that he had just been humiliated by his brothers. He would go through anything for her.

As long as it kept her eyes twinkling like the stars.


	10. Tobogganing

Ch.10: Tobogganing

Five teens sat around the lair's living room, each reveling in the peaceful silence.

"I'm so booooorrreeeedddd!" That was quickly shattered by the turtle clad in orange. Leonardo let out a sigh as his brother continued to whine.

"Shut up, knucklehead!" Raphael snapped, emerald eyes glaring at the little turtle from above the comic he held.

"Why don't you play one of your video games?" Donatello suggested, pointing at the ragged looking game console.

"I've already passed all my games!" Michelangelo complained, a pout forming on his face. He turned his bright blue eyes onto the human girl sitting on the couch, making sure his expression looked pitiful.

"Do you know anything fun we could do April?" he asked, his lower lips jutting out slightly. The redhead looked at the freckled teen thoughtfully, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Well, we could go out and play in the snow, it's been piling up nicely," the teenage girl mused, "I know this spot that my dad and I used to go to because it was so closed off that no one goes there." Michelangelo immediately brightened with excitement. Raphael and Leonardo gave the redheaded girl doubtful looks.

"And what exactly are we gonna do in the snow? Freeze our tails off?" Raphael asked sarcastically. April glared in response.

"Actually, I think my aunt has some toboggans in the house. We could play around with those." April offered with a smile.

"I don't know April," Leonardo replied hesitantly, "It's still light out. What if someone sees us?"

"It's okay Leo," the girl said reassuringly, "I promise that no one will see you guys; this place is really hidden."

"And if someone does see us, then we can just induce memory loss," Raphael smirked, cracking his knuckles. Michelangelo nodded his head eagerly, excitement evident on his face. Leonardo wearily glanced at Donatello, hoping for some sort of support, but he should have known better. It involved April. Of course the purple clad ninja would go along with whatever it was she wanted.

"Well it's obvious that it doesn't matter what I say, but Master Splinter will never let us go!" Leonardo sighed in agitation.

"Have you tried asking him, oh wise leader?" April asked in perfect Raphael style sarcasm. The other three brothers snickered, and the red clad turtle gave the redhead an approving nod.

"No," Leonardo scowled, "I haven't asked because I know that he'll just say no." April raised a brow at the blue masked turtle leader.

"Challenge accepted," the girl said, moving from her place on the couch next to Donatello, "Where's Master Splinter?" Three of the turtle brothers gazed up at the redhead in awe. The blue clad turtle simply returned her challenging glare.

"He's in the meditation room," Leonardo said casually, "Go ahead and ask. But I can guarantee you that he'll say no." April simply stuck her tongue out at him and headed out of the room. Making her way through the lair she learned to memorize, April walked quietly into the meditation room and found herself staring at a broad back that was sitting down. An ear gave a small twitch at her entrance, and the aging rat craned his neck to look at her.

"Um, hello," April greeted sheepishly from the doorway. The wise master simply gazed knowingly at her.

"I know what you have come to ask me, Miss O'Neil," he said mystically. April could only look at him incredulously, her eyes wide with surprise. The old rat took in her expression and chuckled, twitching his ears as he spoke.

"These ears are not large for show, Miss O'Neil," he said in amusement, "Now, would you care to ask me if you and my sons may play in the snow?" Recovering from her shock, April composed herself quickly and put on a pleading face.

"Master Splinter, may your sons and I please go out to play in the snow?"

"No," Splinter replied curtly. April only glared and decided to immediately resort to drastic measures. She put on the puppy eyes that she spent sixteen years of her life perfecting on her father. She never lost.

"Please Master Splinter? I promise that no one will see them, and I'll accept full responsibility for whatever happens," April begged, making sure to form small tears in the corners of eyes as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. Splinter sighed at the expression the human girl was making, feeling his resolve crumbling ever so slightly. He knew the girl was stubborn and most likely would continue pleading until she got her way. Well, determination was an admirable virtue, and he enjoyed messing around with his sons every once in a while. Besides, he wasn't completely strict.

"I shall let them go, BUT in return, training will be doubled tomorrow. For all of you." ... Well okay, maybe he was a little strict. April's face broke out into a wide grin and she squealed out her thanks. Splinter smiled as she ran out of the room, rushing to tell the four turtles the news.

"Alright boys, let's move out," April commanded as she entered the living room. She gave the blue clad turtle a haughty look, "We're going tobogganing." Three voices let out excited whoops as they headed out of the lair, but Leonardo could only stare at her with a slackened jaw and wide eyes.

"How did you-"

"I don't lose Leo," April said casually, leaving the lair. Leonardo could only follow her and his brothers out, a bewildered look still plastered on his face. As the five teens made their way through to April's aunt's apartment, Michelangelo suddenly rushed up in between April and Donatello, who had been having a quiet conversation, and turned to the redhead with a playful grin.

"Hey April, I'll race you to the apartment," Michelangelo challenged, ignoring the glare his older purple clad brother threw at him.

"Okay, you're on," April said, just as playful, "But get ready to lose." Leonardo let out a snort, still a bit sore over his earlier loss.

"Are you sure about that April? We're highly trained, extremely skilled ninjas," the blue clad leader began, "And as much as I hate to admit it, Mikey is the fastest of us all. Plus, all this snow is gonna make this race a lot harder. Are you sure you wanna take him on?" Michelangelo gave the girl a smug grin, and the redhead countered with a competitive glare.

"Let's do this," April declared. The two teens then got into position, making sure to start from the same place.

"You can do it April!" Donatello yelled out in encouragement, "Kick his shell!" April grinned, feeling a small blush form on her cheeks. He was cheering for her. She couldn't lose.

"On your mark," Leonardo started, "Get set. GO!" And then the two were off. April didn't give the little orange masked ninja enough credit. He was definitely fast. He was already ahead of her, and getting farther.

_"But he doesn't know the city,"_ April thought suddenly. With a grin, she immediately veered into an alleyway, her kunoichi training paying off as she leapt over fences and ran through multiple alleyways and crevices. Grasping onto a familiar fire escape, the teenage girl quickly hoisted herself up and opened the window she knew was unlocked. She had just stepped into the room when a familiar blur of green and orange stumbled in.

"Oh yeah! Michelangelo wins a- April?" the orange clad turtle let out in surprise as he noticed the redhead in the room. April gave the teen a sly wave.

"Hey Mikey," April said smugly. Michelangelo let out a groan.

"No way! I lost?!" Michelangelo exclaimed in disbelief just as his brothers entered the room.

"You lost? To April?!" Raphael cackled, "Man, you guys are pathetic! She's just a human girl! How hard can it be to beat her?" Both April and Donatello glared at the hotheaded turtle. Slipping her hand into his, April gave the blushing purple masked turtle a wink before turning back to his red clad brother, that competitive spark back in her eyes.

"Alright Raph," April started casually, "Then let's have a toboggan race. You and whoever you want versus me and Donnie."

"You're on, Gingersnap," Raphael sneered, "Prepare to lose. In fact, I'll even give you a handicap and take Mikey. And I'll still win!" A resounding 'hey' was heard, but was ignored.

"I don't think you get it yet Raph," April glared, tightening her grip on Donatello's hand, "I don't lose. Especially when I have Donnie on my side." Raphael snorted.

"Right. Like I'm gonna lose to the princess and her blushing boyfriend." April gave the turtle one last heated glare before quickly leaving the room and returning a few seconds later, two wooden toboggans in her arms.

"Let's do this," the girl said, tossing one of the toys to the red masked teen. He caught it easily, and then the five made their way out of the room. April led the four boys to an area in a forest-like park that was completely hidden by trees, a rather large snow covered hill in the middle of the clearing. Trudging up the hill, four of the teens split into two teams, Leonardo standing between them.

"Alright guys, get ready," Leonardo said. Both April and Raphael got on their toboggans, sending each other competitive glares. Michelangelo quickly got on behind his brother, and Donatello followed his brother's example, blushing heavily as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around April's waist. The redhead smiled and cuddled into the mutant turtle's comfortable plastron ever so slightly, trying to make sure he didn't notice, although the effort was futile.

"Okay guys, here's how it's gonna work. I'm gonna head down to the bottom of the hill and keep my arms out. The first team to touch my hand wins."

"We got it, Captain," Raphael said sarcastically, "Hurry it up will ya? I wanna beat the lovebirds before sundown."

"Yeah, let's go Leo," April glared, "Raph needs plenty of time to eat his words." Leonardo shrugged at the two teams and walked to the base of the hill, stretching his arms out wide.

"On your mark, get set,...GO!" And then the two teams were off, quickly sliding down the hill. April leaned forward, bringing Donatello with her as she let out a laugh. He let out a squeak and clung to her even tighter, trying to ignore his rapid heartbeat. April found it both hard to breathe and to see, snow flying at her face and Donatello's body pressing against hers as he tightened his powerful grip. She reached out with her hand anyway, wincing as she felt the sharp sting of smooth skin. She heard a voice that sounded like Leonardo, but she couldn't be sure, the wind left her slightly deaf. She felt the ride slowing to a halt, but her riding partner's hold on her didn't loosen. As they passes the base of the hill, April looked over to the approaching red and orange team. The red clad turtle and the teenage girl glared at each other heatedly as they waited for the results, standing up slowly.

"And the winners are," Leonardo sighed, "April and Donnie. Of course." Raphael let out a growl of frustration as the purple clad turtle and his human companion cheered in delight. Throwing her arms around the scarf wearing turtle's neck, April reached up and quickly gave him a peck on the cheek, her happiness momentarily winning against her embarrassment. Donatello let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Then the two turned to look smugly at the remaining three turtles. One was scowling, the other was pouting, and the last one was growling while spouting curses under his breath.

"Well, looks like April kicked all three of your shells," Donatello said casually, "I think she deserves a prize."

"Donnie," Leonardo warned, wary of the mischievous look in his brother's brown eyes, "What are you planning?"

"Nothing. Hey April," Donatello said nonchalantly, turning to the amused girl he had kept an arm around, "Leo cries whenever he hears the story of Hachiko, Raph talks and sings to his pet turtle, and Mikey's afraid of teletubbies. Also, they all keep stuffed animals that they sleep with." All three of the brothers burst into blushes as April began to laugh, not bothering to hide it as she had with Donatello.

"Donnie!" Michelangelo exclaimed, blushing bright red, "What did you tell her that for?!" Donatello gave his brothers a smug grin.

"Like I said, April deserved a prize," Donatello shrugged, "But consider it a bit of payback for a few days ago." The purple clad turtle then removed his arm from April and took off running, knowing that his brothers were hot on his tail. April continued to laugh as she watched the wrestling brothers, but somehow, she felt...colder. She didn't have a warm, powerful arm on her, protecting her, comforting her. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She knew what was happening to her, but she was scared. After all, this wasn't normal. Well, okay, her life no longer classified as 'normal', but this was outrageous. How could she ever hope for an even slightly normal life if she lost this fight?

But as she gazed at the purple clad ninja, taking in his warm brown eyes and gap-toothed smile, she wasn't sure if this was a battle she wanted to win anymore.


	11. Stockings

Ch.11: Stockings

"Okay, just a little higher... now just a bit to the right, no your right...that's your left...Wait, stop!" April directed, "There! Perfect!" Michelangelo let out a happy yell as he stepped away from the tree, admiring their work. The newly placed star on the Christmas tree twinkled brightly from the top branch. April threw her arms around the orange clad turtle and grinned up at the fake pine.

"Looks great Mikey," April praised as the orange clad teen put an arm around the human girl's shoulders, unaware of the piercing brown gaze coming from the couch. Michelangelo returned the girl's grin, his bright blue eyes shining.

"That's the power of teamwork, dudette," the orange masked ninja beamed, holding a large green fist out toward her. The redhead bumped his fist with her own, and the two let out an imitation of an explosion as they splayed their fingers open. Laughing, the two didn't notice the cold stare coming from a certain purple clad ninja turtle. He sulked as he continued to watch the bonding pair, no longer focusing on the tv in front of him.

"Please do everyone a favor and wipe that look off of your face, Donnie," an approaching voice tsked behind him, "Jealousy really doesn't suit you." Donatello turned his neck to look at his older blue clad brother. His face set into a scowl.

"I'm not jealous, Leo," Donatello scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. He stole another glance at his younger brother and the human girl before quickly giving his attention back to the turtle leader. Leonardo raised a brow at his brother before taking a seat.

"Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night," Leonardo shrugged, his lips still formed into a teasing smile. Grabbing the remote from the unfocused purple masked turtle, Leonardo changed the channel, letting out a small gleeful yelp as Space Heroes popped up on the fuzzy screen. Nothing seemed to matter to Donatello at the moment, his mind was too engrossed with the cheerful pair who had pulled out many different colored, fuzzy sock-like items from a large bag that April had brought with her.

"Alright Mikey," he heard the girl of his dreams say, "Let's get to work on these stockings!" Michelangelo grinned excitedly as the two made their way into the kitchen, their arms full of art and craft supplies. Donatello followed them with his eyes until they were out of sight, then his mind set to work on different plans and strategies on how to interrupt them.

"Here's an idea Donnie," Leonardo said helpfully. He didn't turn around, but he knew his brother well enough to know when he was over thinking. "Why don't you just ask if you could join them?" Donatello looked at his brother for a total of two seconds before turning away again, shaking his head. There was no way such a simple plan like that would ever work. Unless... Donatello suddenly stood up, causing the blue clad turtle seated on the floor to look up at him in surprise.

"I got it!" the intellectual turtle exclaimed triumphantly, "I'll walk over there and ask if I can join them. They won't be alone together anymore therefore minimizing the chances of any romantic situations that may occur between them!"

"That's what I just-!" Leonardo sighed, "You know what? Forget it, just... do whatever you want." Donatello shrugged and made his way out of the living room, heading toward the kitchen. When he arrived inside, April and Michelangelo were seated at the table, diligently working on the stockings. Their workspace was a mess, pieces of different colored felts littered the table's surface and there were stains of what the purple clad turtle assumed was fabric paint everywhere, including on the artists themselves. They looked up simultaneously as Donatello awkwardly cleared his throat, giving them a small wave and a nervous, gap-toothed smile.

"Hey guys," he greeted as casually as he could, "What are you doing?" Michelangelo grinned up at him happily, but Donatello internally winced when he noticed that April cast her gaze slightly downward, not quiet meeting his.

"We're decorating stockings to hang up in the living room!" the hyper orange masked ninja explained brightly, "April says it's a really important thing to do for Christmas, so we're making sure to decorate them super awesomely!"

"Oh, well, that sounds like fun," Donatello smiled, recovering quickly, "Do need any help?" Michelangelo was about to respond to his brother when April beat him to it.

"We're fine, thanks," the redhead said quickly, still not looking directly at the purple clad turtle, "Besides, we don't wanna keep you from your inventions or anything. But thanks for offering." Donatello felt a quick, painful stab in his chest as his expression dropped, his shoulders drooping sadly.

"Oh...a-are you sure? I mean I'm not working on anything right now, so it's perfectly fine if-"

"It's okay Donnie," April interrupted, "We're fine. You can go ahead and work on whatever it is you need to work on." As she finally looked up at him, Donatello had to fight to keep himself from collapsing to his knees. Her bright blue eyes seemed so...cold. Her irises held a mixture of distance and confusion, as if she didn't want to be near him. The pain in his chest returned much worse than before.

"Oh...," he let out quietly, giving the pair a weak smile, "Okay, um, yeah. I'll just...go train for awhile. I'll be in the dojo then,... if you need me..." He exited the room silently, heading toward the dojo with his head hung low so that neither of them could see his face. He passed Leonardo in the living room and navigated his way to the room where all the turtle brothers practiced their techniques. Raphael was already there, and Donatello could hear the creak of the chain as the punching bag swayed from the force of the red clad turtle's powerful hits. He halted mid-punch and looked up as his sullen brother entered the room.

"Hey there, Professor," the temperamental teen snorted as he lowered his fist, "What's got you in such a mood?" Donatello didn't respond to his brother, he only looked at the ragged punching bag, tapping it with his fist softly. Then his eyes hardened, and with a cry of mixed anguish and frustration, he began pounding away mercilessly at the bag. Raphael took a step back, emerald eyes wide with surprise as he watched his younger brother vent out all the emotional turmoil within him.

"Why?" Donatello panted between punches, "Why is she acting this way? What did I do wrong?!" Raphael grew alarmed as the force of the purple clad turtle's punches grew even stronger. He was sure that his younger brother was hurting himself, but the angsty teen showed no signs of stopping his assault. Quickly maneuvering behind him, Raphael gripped his brother's arms, preventing him from throwing anymore swings at the punching bag.

"Donnie! Stop!" Raphael yelled at the struggling turtle, "Calm down!" Finally breaking, the scientist crumpled onto the floor, dragging his brother with him. The purple clad ninja let out a noise that seemed like a cross between a sigh and a hiccup, nothing but sadness on his face. Raphael simply sat with his brother on the dojo's floor, waiting for him to speak.

"We were getting along so well," Donatello began pathetically, drawing his knees into himself and folding his arms over them, "We've cuddled, and held hands. We were learning about each other, opening up. We've kissed three times! Not counting the hand and cheek kisses. I thought...I thought that maybe, she was finally starting to like me. The way I like her." Donatello's eyes hardened as he continued speaking.

"But then, just recently, she started avoiding me. At first I thought it was just bad timing, you know, coincidences. Then I realized that she was doing it on purpose. She moves away when I try to get close to her, she doesn't look me in the eyes, she...she can't even stand to be in the same room as me, Raph," Donatello let out an empty, hollow laugh, "Why is she doing this to me? What did I do wrong?" Raphael was silent for awhile, letting his brother's desperate questions sink in. He let out a sigh.

"You really picked the worst possible guy to confide in Donnie," Raphael chuckled dryly, "You know I'm terrible with all this emotional stuff. I can't tell you what you want to know. The only person who can do that is April, and unless you've invented a machine that can read her mind, then you'll have to man up and ask her yourself." Raphael gave the purple masked teen an awkward, encouraging pat on the shoulder before getting up and leaving his brother in solitary silence in the dojo. Donatello let out a sigh as he let his head drop onto his arms.

He was losing the girl he loved, and somehow, he couldn't help but blame the stupid stockings.


	12. Chocolate

Ch.12: Chocolate

April resisted the urge to slam her face against the table as she watched Donatello leave. He looked so crestfallen, and April couldn't stand the fact that she was the one causing it. Why couldn't she stop pushing him away? Michelangelo stared at his companion in worry, looking from her to the kitchen doorway where his older purple clad brother once stood. The atmosphere had changed the second Donatello came into the kitchen, becoming thick and tense. Even with him gone, the oppressive air still remained, and Michelangelo wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

"April?" the orange clad turtle asked hesitantly, "Is everything okay with you and Donnie?"

"No!" the human girl wailed in response, covering her face with her hands, "Oh, Mikey, I'm so stupid! I'm messing everything up, and I don't know how to fix it!"

"Woah! Calm down, April!" the little ninja cried in panic, "Take a deep breath, relax...that's it...Now, tell me what's wrong."

"Donnie and I have been getting along really well lately," April explained sadly, "We've been really close. He's been so sweet, and gentle... And the other day, when we were out tobogganing, I realized that I...that I think I'm starting to like him." Michelangelo stared at her with confusion in his bright blue eyes.

"I thought you always liked him. You like the rest of us," the orange clad turtle said, his expression puzzled. April gave a weak laugh.

"No, I mean like as in like-like," April clarified. Michelangelo let out a small, quiet 'oohhh' in understanding, "Anyway, after realizing that, I suddenly found that I can't look Donnie in the face anymore. My mouth gets all dry, so it's hard to talk. I get all nervous, my heart starts beating so hard I honestly think I may be having a heart attack, and I start blushing even when he's just in the same ROOM with me. So I've been trying to avoid him, but the worst part is, that even though I'm the one pushing him away, it still hurts because I miss him! I just want things to go back to how they were before, before we went tobogganing."

"Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" Michelangelo asked in confusion. April stared at him, fearing growing in her sky colored eyes.

"I can't do that, Mikey," she said quietly, her voiced shaking a bit, "If I lose this fight, then nothing will be the same. Any chance that I might of had for an even slightly normal life will be gone. But...if I win, then I'll lose Donnie. Mikey, I just don't know what to do, and I don't know how I'll ever make this up to him." The redhead sighed and let her head rest on the messy kitchen table, no longer caring if something stuck to her face. Michelangelo sat with her, uncharacteristically silent as he absorbed everything he heard.

"Well to me, it sounds like you really aren't sure what you want," the hyperactive ninja said solemnly, "But it's like Master Splinter tells me all the time: Focus and dedicate yourself, only then can you truly learn." The orange clad turtle grinned at the redhead.

"You have to make up with Donnie. Spend time with him like you did before, but this time, try to learn more about him. It's only when you focus and dedicate yourself to knowing him that you can decide if he's what you really want." The human girl let out a small sniffle before giving the freckled teen a weak smile.

"You know, the guys never give you enough credit," April chuckled lightly, "You're a really good therapist." The orange clad turtle laughed as he put his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"They're just family of little faith," he grinned, "Hey, do you want some chocolate? I think we still have some from last time." April nodded, a small smile on her face. She still felt horrible, but chocolate was always a great pick me up. Smiling, the orange clad ninja got up from his seat at the table and began zipping around the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets and draws in search of the sweet treat.

"Found it!" he exclaimed happily after opening and looking through the fridge. Bringing the candy back to the table, he broke the bar in two and handed one of the halves to the depressed human girl.

"Thanks," the redhead said gratefully as she accepted the treat in front of her. Suddenly, she stared at the candy, her sky colored eyes narrowing. Something about the chocolate was familiar. It reminded her of something, but what...? April's eyes widened and she let out a groan as she realized what she was thinking about.

She must miss him more than she thought if chocolate was starting to remind her of his eyes.

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**{A/N:}** Okay, so this one is definatly the shortest chapter of all the ones I've written so far. Seriously, it's not even 1,000 words, which makes me sad. But anyway, I want to thank you guys for over 50 reviews, seriously, I never thought that would happen. And the story's only half over! Please keep supporting me and this couple as you have! So it seems that now April is struggling with her feelings and Donnie's misunderstanding big time. How will they repair their relationship? I'm the author and I don't even know! (See that's how much this story writes itself, it's actually kind of freaky...)


	13. Red, Green, and Gold

Ch.13: Red, Green, and Gold

"So, you feeling better now?" Michelangelo asked, giving the redhead at the table an encouraging pat on the shoulder. The teen girl smiled up at him, the depressed fear vanishing from her eyes.

"Yeah, I am, thanks," April said with a small sniffle. The orange clad turtle grinned.

"Ready to make up with Donnie now?" the excitable ninja rallied. April sat up, a new determination filling her sky colored eyes. She clenched her hands into fists on the table.

"Yeah, I think I am!" the redhead exclaimed resolutely, a light blush staining her cheeks.

"Then go get 'im, tiger!" Michelangelo cheered, throwing his hands up into the air. April hastily stood, her chair scraping harshly on the floor. With her eyes burning, April rushed out of the kitchen and headed for the dojo. She was passing through the living room and was about to enter the dojo when an angry voice growled out at her.

"April!" The confused redhead turned to see a stocky, scowling, red masked turtle. He was moving toward her slowly, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

"Do you have any idea how much you've been hurting him?!" Raphael barked out, stopping a few inches in front of her. His emerald eyes were smoldering, and April was actually a bit frightened.

"I know, Raph, but-" April winced as Raphael immediately interrupted her, the rage over his hurt brother written all over his features.

"But WHAT, April?" he seethed, "You just happened to decide that you wanted to raise his hopes up before crushing him completely?! He's so heartbroken over you! And you act as if you don't even care! You're lucky you're a girl or else I would-"

"Woah, woah! Calm down, Raph!" Leonardo said, leaving the television and coming between the two teens. He put both of his hands on his hotheaded brother's plastron and pushed him slightly back.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" Raphael spat out at his older blue clad brother, "Leo, do you have any idea how much he's hurting because of her?!"

"I know that he's hurt!" April cried out, glaring at the red clad ninja, "What I've done to him his unforgivable, but I have to that's why I have to at least try to fix it! It's okay if you guys all hate me, I know I deserve it, but give me a chance to-" April didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as a new voice interrupted her.

"What's going on?" Everyone in the room turned to see a forlorn and confused looking Donatello standing in the dojo's doorway. April felt her heart breaking as she took in the scientist's downtrodden expression, guilt flaring up in her.

"Hey, Leo, Raph! I have something really important that I need your help with that's far, far away from April and Donnie!" Michelangelo yelled out hastily, dashing into the room from his place in the kitchen. He grabbed his older brothers' arms and forcefully dragged them out of the room, "And it can't wait!" In a flash, they were gone, leaving the purple clad turtle and his human companion alone in silence. With a tiny glimmer of hope, Donatello glanced over at the redhead, only to be crushed as he found that yet again, she wasn't looking at him. April couldn't understand it. Just a minute ago, she was about to fight her way through his strongest brother to get to him. But now, he was here with her, alone, and she suddenly felt the flame of her resolution disappear. Her heart began to beat loudly in her chest, and for a moment, she wondered if he could hear it.

"...April?..." His voice was whisper thin, but she could hear how broken he was, "What...what did I do?" The redhead tried to find her voice to respond, but she couldn't seem to speak a word. She simply stood there, facing away from him so he couldn't see her blushing face. Donatello's eyes hardened as he realized that she wasn't looking at him.

"I don't know what I've done to make you hate me so much, but if you don't want to tell me, then I'll just leave," April's eyes widened as she heard the cold edge in his voice. He was leaving.

"NO!" April yelled out, clenching her eyes shut. The purple clad turtle halted and turned around to see a redhead who had thrown her hands over her face.

"I don't hate you," the girl began shakily, still not allowing him to see her face, "I could never hate you, how could I?" The masked ninja's brown eyes softened as he slowly made his way to her.

"I don't understand," he muttered in confusion, "Then why-?"

"It's because I'm scared!" April exclaimed, never moving her hands, "I'm scared that if we spend too much time together, then I'm gonna fall. It's not your fault, it never was! It's mine and I'm sorry for everything I've done. I know I don't deserve forgiveness, but I want you to know that I'm sorry. I just... I'm scared of falling, Donnie." Donatello looked gazed at the human girl with a newfound determination in his chocolate colored eyes. He had to see her face.

"April, let me see your face," he coaxed softly, moving closer to her. She shook her head frantically, taking a step back. Donatello frowned at her actions, and gently gripped her small wrists in his large hands, "Please, April." The girl struggled, shaking her head around and refusing to remove her hands. Finally the purple clad teen had had enough and he slowly pried her hands away from her face. His heart then proceeded to melt as he took in her expression. Her entire face was coated in a strawberry red blush, and she chewed on her bottom lip as she stared up at him with big, doleful, sky colored eyes. He could only stare at her, enchanted by how utterly adorable she looked. She squirmed under his gaze, trying to tug her wrists free from his grasp.

"It's okay for you to fall, you know," he finally said, looking warmly at her, red blossoming on his cheeks,"I'll always be there to catch you." April shook her head again, the fear returning.

"I know that I can trust you," she said quietly, "But I... I'm just so..." April watched as Donatello's lips curved into a grin, his eyes lighting up with a determined spark.

"Then I'll just have to make you fall for me," he whispered to her, making her feel as though she would faint at any moment. Slowly he released one of her hands and brought it up to her face, stroking it gently. The human girl felt her heart stop and she didn't dare move. When he brought his hand between them, she saw that his fingers were coated in red, green, and gold.

She was never so grateful for fabric paint.


	14. Ornaments

**{A/N:}** Hello everyone! Yes I know it's been awile since my last update, but unfortunately, that dreaded thing called school has started up for me again. Now that doesn't mean that I'm giving up on this story, oh no. I'm with this couple (and this story) until the bitter end. No, this just means that udates won't be as frequent and quick like before. But rest assured that new chapters will continue to be posted! Long live the Apritello fandom! HAHAHAHAHAHA *cough* Hmmm? What? No, I'm not crazy :3

* * *

Ch.14: Ornaments

"Um, I uh, I think I have to go...," April said breathlessly, moving away from the purple clad turtle, "I'll, uh, see you guys tomorrow." With one last glance at him, the redhead forced her numb legs to move, stumbling slightly as she turned and finally left the lair. The turtle followed her with a burning gaze, silently watching the retreating figure leave. Once he was sure she was gone, he let out an exaggerated breath and crumpled onto the floor, his eyes widening as his face exploded into a blush. He placed a hand over his heart and clenched at it, as if that would stop it from beating so hard. When his brothers finally returned to the lair a good while later, they found the purple clad scientist seated on the floor, slumped against the wall with his hands over his face. He was mumbling incoherently, making his three brothers shrug and slowly back away. Removing his hands from his face, Donatello glared at his family, who by then, had immersed themselves in one of the arcade games on the other side of the living room.

"Thanks for being so concerned about me guys," he hissed out, every word dripping with sarcasm. His brothers simply glanced at him over their shoulders for a second before returning their attention to their game.

"Anytime, Donnie," Leonardo called out, never looking away from the brightly flashing screen. Grumbling, the brooding teen shot the trio one last glare before getting up and heading into his room. Stumbling into the messy lab, the tall turtle collapsed onto his bed, gazing up at the ceiling. Sighing, he rubbed at his face tiredly, reflecting on the conversation he had with his redheaded love earlier. Why did he ever tell her that? He wasn't really sure how to go about making her fall for him. After all, he had no experience with girls, or humans, for that matter. So human girls were an enigma to him, one that he was absolutely sure that he was never going to figure out. No matter how much of a genius he was. The teen turned onto his side, cuddling his head into his pillow.

"But when we talked this time, she was so...different," he realized. His eyes widened the more he replayed the conversation in his mind. It was as if their roles in the relationship had switched. This time, she had been the one fumbling and stuttering. She had been the one confused and blushing bright red. Well, yeah, okay he had nearly passed out after she left, but she didn't know that, or had to, for that matter. Donatello's face broke into a wide gap-toothed grin. She was already starting to like him the way he had dreamed of. He had an advantage, now he just needed to play his cards right. If he could show her through actions how great it would be if they were together, then she wouldn't be so scared to fall. He needed to show her that he would always be there to catch her, always. The purple clad ninja closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with plans and strategies already beginning to formulate themselves in his head. He couldn't afford to mess up.

The next day, Donatello spent his time fidgeting while he waited for April's eventual arrival. He couldn't seem to stay still. He moved around the lair, tinkered in his lab, and practiced in the dojo, but he couldn't seem to focus on anything. His brothers went about their own business, not really worrying about the purple clad turtle's relationship anymore. It's not that they no longer cared, they had just come to the agreement that their brother needed to make his own moves and progress in his relationship further on his own... But that didn't mean that they were going to stop messing with their awkward genius brother and his possibly soon to be girlfriend. The sound of foot steps caused the impatient teen to let out a small squeak of surprised nervousness before he tried to compose himself, although he failed rather terribly.

"Hey guys," the redhead called out in a greeting as she entered the living room. She carried yet another bag in her gloved hand, which all the turtles took note of as she set it down to remove the layers of clothing she wore over her usual attire. She looked over all of the turtle brothers, the recent events that had occurred making the atmosphere a bit awkward. After all, how was one supposed to act when she had caused their brother days of painful heartache who, by the way, had then decided he was going to make her fall for him just yesterday? She wasn't quite sure what to do exactly, so instead, she reached for the bag she had brought with her and pulled out four boxes of familiar peppermint treats. Four pairs of eyes lit up in excitement as they spotted the stripped candy, and April couldn't help smiling at the delighted looks on their faces.

"Candy canes!" Michelangelo whooped out in joy. He rushed over to the amused redhead and grabbed a box before then proceeding to crush her in a hug. He ran off shouting his thanks, allowing Raphael to come up to receive his own box.

"I'm not really good with all that emotional stuff," he began gruffly, taking the treats, "But I know why you did what you did. And it looks like Donnie forgives you, so I guess I can forgive you too." He gazed at the floor with narrowed eyes, the tiniest hint of a blush on his cheeks. April grinned, relief written all across her features. She threw one arm around the hotheaded turtle, still holding two boxes of candy canes with the other. The red masked teen stiffly returned the one armed hug, putting his arm around the redhead and giving her shoulder a light squeeze.

"Thank you so much, Raph," the human girl said, her voice conveying the sincere relief she felt. The temperamental turtle grinned and rolled his emerald eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, stepping away from her. He walked away shaking his head, mumbling under his breath, "Just don't understand why you just don't get together already." April blushed lightly and pouted, but quickly got over that little comment as the oldest turtle brother walked up to her. He smiled at her, taking one of the boxes she held into his hand.

"Mikey told us your side of the story," he explained with a grin, his dark blue eyes glittering like oceans behind the slightly lighter blue mask, "We all forgive you. Just make sure that you don't hurt him like that again. Though from what I've been seeing and hearing, I think I'm gonna have to make sure that Donnie doesn't get hurt doing something stupid while having his mind on his future girlfriend instead." April blushed bright red and let out a noise of mixed surprise and agitation as Leonardo snorted and walked away, his teasing laughter ringing in her ears. She growled out at him, not realizing that her fourth customer had appeared before her.

"Hey April," he greeted as casually as he could. The redhead's attention immediately snapped to him, and she blushed for what she thought was the tenth time so far that day.

"Oh, um, h-hi," she stuttered, cursing herself internally for being so nervous. He just grinned at her and took the final box of candy canes from her arms. She smiled back up at him, and allowed herself to get lost in his warm chocolate colored eyes for a second. Then she snapped herself out of it and cleared her throat.

"Uh, well, I was finally able to buy ornaments for the tree!" she announced, rummaging around in her bottomless bag of wonders. She pulled out even more boxes, this time filled with ornaments of all different shapes, sizes, and colors.

"I even got some special ones for each of you," she said happily, "I was able to find some Space Heroes ornaments for you, Leo." She handed him a themed box of his favorite cartoon, which he happily accepted with a slightly feminine squeal of delight. He then ran over to the tree and began to place the small figures where he desired on the fake branches.

"Raph, I got you some comic themed ones, I know these are your favorite series," the redhead continued, passing him the box. He grinned and nodded his thanks, walking over and pushing his brother out of the way to decorate as well.

"I got you a mix of game and pizza themed ones, Mikey, since I wasn't sure which one you'd like better," April smiled, giving the orange clad turtle his ornaments. He let out a happy yell, rushing over to the tree to decorate with his now arguing brothers. Finally, she turned to Donatello and shyly handed him a box of ornaments. Taking it from her, he looked it over and grinned. Inside were figurines of computers and different tools. But in the middle of the box was a figure of a small purple robot with round yellow eyes. It had a rectangular body and square head, with blocky arms and feet. Its clawed hands were in front of it, holding a little red heart.

"It reminded me of you," the blushing redhead muttered, looking up at him. A blush of his own blossomed on his cheeks as he gave her a gap-toothed smile.

"I love it,"he replied quietly. He was about to go over to the rest of his family when he turned his attention back to her, puzzled, "Um, aren't you going to put your ornaments on the tree?" April shook her head, but smiled.

"Oh, no, I'll just put up the others," she answered cheerfully, grabbing the rest of the ornaments. She walked over to where the other turtles had stopped fighting and began to decorate with them. Shrugging, Donatello followed her.

"Alright guys, the tree is done!" Michelangelo let out happily when everyone had hung their decorations on the plastic pine. They had spent a total of thirty minutes arguing before they had actually started decorating, as all the brothers had wanted their special decorations near the top, facing the rest of the room. Once they had finished though, they stepped back and were pleased with the results. There was a mix of different themes everywhere, blended with some of the more traditional round ornaments. April had found some silver tinsel and had wrapped it around the branches, being sure not to ruin the colorful flashing lights or the hard fought for placement of their decorations.

"I say we celebrate with candy canes!" Leonardo shouted. He glared at Raphael and Michelangelo, smirking, "You two still owe me some from last time." The two groaned and began to bicker their way out of the room, following their older brother. Donatello and April glanced at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles and leaving the room too. The quintet spent the rest of the day goofing around, eating candy canes as they watched tv and played video games.

"Okay guys, I think I'm gonna head home now," April said as she stretched her arms up above her head, getting up from her place on the couch. Donatello glanced up at her from where he was seated next to her, his focus now on the redhead.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked, setting his computer aside and getting up as well, "It's starting to get late." The human girl shook her head, smiling at at him.

"No, it's okay," April replied happily, "You guys have to start patrol soon, and I don't want you to get in trouble with your brothers for not being there like last time." The trio around them snickered but managed to keep their comments to themselves. April gave the blushing purple clad turtle a teasing grin, but grabbed his hand and gave it a light, affectionate squeeze. "Thanks for the offer though." She said sweetly, making the scientist fumble a bit for words. Still holding onto his large hand, she gave his brothers a small wave.

"See you guys," she called out. Looking back over to the violet masked ninja, the redhead ran her thumb gently over his smooth green skin, making his mind short circuit. "Bye Donnie," the girl said softly, looking up into his eyes with a pastel pink blush on her cheeks. She leaned in slightly, as if she wanted to kiss him on the cheek, or something of the sort, but thought better of it and just flashed him another adorable smile. Then she slowly and reluctantly slipped her hand out of his and left, leaving her crush to the teasing backlash of his brothers. He scowled at them, the warm affectionate atmosphere disappearing around him. He was on his way to his room to look for his bo staff for patrol, when something caught his eye as he passed the Christmas tree. Walking back over to it, he noticed an ornament that he knew hadn't been there earlier. There, right next to his figurine of the little purple robot was a another robot, but this one was yellow with purple eyes. It had lashes on its round eyes and a purple bow on its square head, making it obvious that this robot was a girl. Just like his, this one held a little red heart in its clawed hands. Donatello grinned as he stared at the pair of ornaments rigt next to each other on the tree.

Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as he thought.


	15. Cards

Ch.15: Cards

"Okay, so let me see if I've got this," Raphael said, folding his arms across his chest,"You're writing April a love letter, and you're going to break into her room in the middle of the night, while she's SLEEPING to leave it on her desk?" The red masked turtle shook his head pitifully.

"You've officially crossed the line that served as the border between cute and insanely creepy, Donnie," he muttered sadly, placing a hand on the chair his brother was sitting in. The purple clad turtle rolled his eyes as another brother joined in the conversation.

"Actually, I think he crossed that line a long time ago," Leonardo's voice came from the hallway. The two turtles turned to see their older brother now leaning against the doorframe of Donatello's room, his lips stretched into a teasing smirk, "Remember when we helped ? The monkey who beat up Donnie?"

"Oh, yeah, the chart!" Raphael exclaimed as he burst into laughter, "Man, now that was just plain freaky!" The purple masked teen growled as his two older brothers continued laughing. He swiveled his chair around, his usually warm brown eyes now in a cold narrow glare.

"Will you guys just go away?" he spit out in annoyance, "You're not helping!" He turned his chair back around to face his desk and returned his attention to the blank card in front of him. "And for your information, it's not a love letter. It's a Christmas card." Leonardo and Raphael both shot the scientist matching deadpanned looks. Although the turtle in purple didn't look up from his work, he could feel their gazes on him.

"Oh please," the blue clad teen said saucily, "With the way you two have been dancing around each other, it may as well be a love letter. Besides, you're probably gonna end up writing some sort of corny poem in it no matter what you say."

"I still say the whole breaking into her room thing is creepy," Raphael put in, "Tell me why you just don't give it to her in person?" His genius younger brother resisted the urge to bang his head against the desk. He turned around again to face his brothers who were now side by side, Leonardo standing tall with his arms folded across his chest and Raphael leaning his elbow on his brother's shoulder, his other hand resting on his hip, and one leg crossed in front of the other. They gave their younger brother matching pointed looks, a single brow raised on each of their faces. Donatello briefly noted how strangely in synch they were before he allowed himself to get lost in an angry explanation.

"Look," he began as patiently as he could at that moment in time, "Girls like guys that are mysterious. If I just gave her the card as if it were normal, that wouldn't make much of an impact. But as a ninja, I already have the advantage in the coolness area. Therefore, if I do something romantic using my ninja abilities, it could potentially intensify the feelings she has for me."

"Or, it could make her feel extremely awkward and uncomfortable," Leonardo retorted, shrugging his shoulders.

"Which are the only two feelings she ever has around you anyway," Raphael grinned teasingly, causing the two brothers to crack up again. The annoyed purple clad turtle began to shout a string of curses in their original Japanese tongue at them, a sign that he had lost his final sliver of patience.

"Leonardo! Raphael!" yelled a stern, scolding voice from the meditation room, "Leave Donatello to his work and go train in the dojo!" Both of the older teens scowled, throwing pouty looks at their now smirking brother before following their teacher's orders and finally leaving the room.

"Thank you, Sensei!" Donatello called out, turning around yet again to refocus on the still blank card on his desk. Closing his eyes, the scientist took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He lifted the pen in his hand and gently put the fine tip on the stark white page...then face planted painfully onto the awaiting desk. He had nothing. Absolutely nothing. All that time spent trying to get his brothers out of his room and he didn't even know what he was going to write. Defiantly not a poem though, he wasn't going to prove Leonardo right. Picking his head up from off the desk, Donatello stared at the blank card before him. This wasn't helping.

_"Okay, time to brainstorm,"_ the purple clad turtle thought, leaning back slightly in his chair. What could he write to her? Despite what he had told his brothers, he knew that this card had to contain something romantic in it. A card asking about someone's day and what's going on doesn't exactly win you their undying love. He could write about the reasons why he loved her; he read somewhere that girls liked that, but then he scrapped the idea. He would need a lot more writing space than just a card if he wanted to write about ALL the reasons he loved her. Then he thought that he could write about how much he loved her, but again, the idea was thrown out the window because he knew for a fact that there was no way words could ever describe the depth of his love.

_"Think, Donnie,"_ the teen sighed, _"What are letters for? Communication...they're used in order to say something that you can't say face to face."_ Donatello had to fight back the urge to slam his face against the desk again like he had earlier. Of course. Despite his intelligence, he really felt stupid at times; the answer was so simple! Raising his pen back onto the card, the purple masked ninja began to write hesitantly at first, but slowly the strokes of the pen grew bolder, more confident. He worked diligently, making sure that his words were precise and appealing to the eye. When he was done, he looked the card over without signing his name. Getting up, he wrapped the scarf that was in his bed around his neck and strapped his bo staff to his back. Shouting a passing goodbye to his guardian, the scientist took off with the card in hand and destination in mind.

_"Perfect,"_ the purple clad turtle thought as he hurried along the rooftops, _"It's pitch black out here and its late at night; she's bound to be asleep."_ Spotting the familiar fire escape, he grinned when he noticed that there was no light illuminating from the unlocked window. Gently, he jumped onto the escape and rested right outside the window before slowly creaking it open and entering the room, his ninja abilities taking over as he made no noise.

"...Mmmhhhhnnnnn...Donnie..." The purple clad teen immediately froze mid-step, glancing fearfully at the redheaded girl on the bed who was turning around. She stirred, but didn't wake. He breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. She was only dreaming, allowing him to hurriedly place the card on her desk and get out silently before she could catch him.

"Hey guys," April called out in greeting as she entered the lair the next day. The brothers greeted her back in their usual ways, but when she spotted Donatello, she walked over and grabbed his hand, dragging him into his lab. When she was sure they were out of earshot of the other turtles she turned to face the purple clad teen and smiled.  
"So, it seems that someone entered my room last night to leave me this," the human girl said, pulling the Christmas card out from her coat pocket. She raised a brow as she held the card in his line of sight, "Would you happen to know anything about it?" Chocolate brown eyes refused to look at the familiar card, but he couldn't help the blush that blossomed onto his face.

"Hmm, I don't know, April," he shrugged, glancing at the amused girl, "I guess an admirer left it." The redhead rolled her eyes playfully before closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around him. He happily returned the embrace, inwardly cheering at the card's success.

"Thanks for the card, Donnie," April muttered, cuddling into him, "It was a sweet thought and written really beautifully..." Donatello stiffened at the tone of her voice as she trailed off.

"But...?" he asked hesitantly, tightening his grip on her slightly.

"But I can't read Japanese."

This time, he couldn't help banging his head against the wall.

* * *

**{A/N:}** I posted this on Tumblr, but I'm gonna do it here too. I'm going to Anime Expo here in Los Angeles on Saturday July 6. I want to cosplay as 2k12 April O'Neil. Now my question is: Are there four people out there in the world who want to be my turtles? We could hang out at the Expo all day, I don't bite, I promise! I love people, and I want to have a little cosplay group so that I can make new friends and have fun! Please contact me if you want to be friends and/or want to cosplay with me! (And I'm just gonna warn you, being the HUGE Apritello fan that I am, I will most likely be all over whoever cosplays as my Donnie ^/^;) Anywho, what do you think Donnie wrote in the card for April? I'd like to see what you think! (Long A/N is long)


	16. Christmas Cookies

Ch.16: Christmas Cookies

April slowly backed away from the turtle who had withdrawn his arms from her and had proceeded to hit his head against the wall behind him. She knew that the boy was awkward and quirky, but sometimes, it was just too much, even for her. The redhead silently walked out of the room, a puzzled expression on her face, but the preoccupied ninja took no notice. She still must have had a confused look on her face, because when she entered the living room, two of three of the brothers looked up and grinned.

"He did something stupid, didn't he?" Leonardo asked from his seat on the floor. Raphael snorted, petting the smaller, normal turtle that was seated on the couch with him.

"Is there really even a need to ask?" the red clad teen inquired sarcastically, "The look on her face makes it pretty obvious. Doesn't it, Spike?"

"What did he do?" Michelangelo called out from the tire swing, his bright blue eyes never leaving the comic book in his hands. April decided not to answer. She didn't want to subject the purple masked terrapin to his brothers' riles and teasing.

"So, do all of you guys know Japanese?" April asked, changing the subject. Eyes of blue and green widened as they stared incredulously at the redheaded human girl. She looked around, feeling confused and a bit embarrassed. Raphael let out a laugh, but was immediately silenced as two different pairs of blue eyes glared at him. Grumbling, he returned his attention to his pet turtle, complaining under his breath. Leonardo looked back to the still bewildered April, a gentle yet sheepish smile on his face.

"Japanese is actually our first language, April," the blue clad turtle explained, "English is our second. Master Splinter was born and raised in Japan, so when he was bringing us up, he taught us his native language of Japanese. We're all fluent in it, read it, and write it. He didn't teach us English until we were a few years old, and what he didn't teach us, we learned through tv."

"Do you guys know how to read and write in English?" April inquired, feeling slightly rude. She wanted to know more about them. More about him.

"Of course we do," the blue masked ninja replied, "Though I admit, we're not as great at it as we are with Japanese." April nodded slowly, coming to understand her terrapin companions a bit more. Well that explained the card. Moving into the kitchen, April began to rummage around the cabinets, looking for what she knew she had brought into the lair earlier in the week.

"Mikey!" April called out, opening another cabinet door, "Have you seen the cookie mix? Or did you make them already?"

"You're making cookies?!" Michelangelo exclaimed excitedly, rushing into the kitchen. April looked over to the delighted orange clad teen, an amused smile on her face.

"Well, I want to make cookies," the redhead answered, "But I can't seem to find the cookie mix." Michelangelo quickly went over to the cabinet furthest from the one the human girl was searching in and reached up, balancing on his toes. He strained for a bit, then returned to his original stance triumphantly, the box of sugar cookie mix in his hand. April clapped her hands gleefully, walking over and taking the box from the freckled teen.

"Oh thanks, Mikey!" the blue eyed girl breathed out happily. She beamed up at him. "Do you want to help me make them?" The hyper ninja's grin widened, and his eyes lit up.

"Really? I can help?" he asked joyfully. The redhead nodded, pleased with his enthusiasm.

"Of course," April replied, setting the box on the counter, "Baking is always way more fun when you do it with family." Michelangelo let out a happy little squeak, throwing his arms around the redhead and giving her a tight hug, making her laugh.

"What do you need done, Madam Captain?" the orange clad turtle asked, standing straight and awaiting her orders. April put a finger to her chin thoughtfully, the smile never leaving her face.

"Well, let's see...How about you get a bowl, and a measuring cup out, then empty the box of cookie mix into the bowl?" The friendly turtle grinned and put his hand up to his forehead in a salute.

"Aye aye, Miss Lady Ma'am!" Michelangelo replied, throwing his hand down. He brought out a mixing bowl and emptied the mix into it while April brought out two eggs and oil, along with a bottle of water, measuring the liquids in the cup precisely before throwing them into the bowl as well. Cracking the eggs on the counter, she carefully let the yolk and whites slip through the shells, being sure not to let any piece of the cracked shell fall into the mix.

"Wanna stir?" the redhead asked, offering the bowl to the freckled turtle. He happily accepted, sliding open a drawer and pulling out a wooden spoon. April watched in amusement as he began mixing all the ingredients in the bowl together, a happy little smile on his face.

"So why'd you decide to make cookies today?" Michelangelo asked, glancing at the girl seated at the counter.

"Just to say thanks," April shrugged, a small blush sprouting on her cheeks. The orange clad teen grinned slyly, but continued mixing until the batter had become a squishy dough. Getting a pan out, the redhead put a cookie sheet on it before getting all the dough out and plopping it in. Smoothing it out evenly, she handed the youngest turtle brother two different metal cookie cutters that she had brought with her. Holding one in each hand, he glanced between them, a puzzled expression on his face.  
"Press them into the cookie dough, but make sure to space them out a bit," April explained. Still confused, Michelangelo did as he was told, watching with growing awe as the dough was morphed into shapes of Christmas trees and snowflakes. When he had finished, April carefully pulled away the left over dough and fit it into one of the cookie cutters, placing it with the other cookies. Sliding the pan into the oven, she set the temperature and timer.

"And now, we wait," the redhead grinned, stretching her arms above her head and heading into the living room. She heard Michelangelo groan behind her.

"Oh, it's not that long," April chided teasingly, causing the three turtles in the living room to look up at the teens entering. The redhead took the seat on the couch next to her favorite purple clad scientist while his younger brother lounged around on the floor with his two older turtle brothers.

"So what are you guys making in there?" Donatello asked, setting his laptop aside and bringing his attention to the human girl seated rather close to him.

"We're making-"

"It's a surprise," April said quickly, interrupting Michelangelo's sentence. She shot the boy a look, and he grinned, making a motion that mimicked closing a zipper across his mouth. Donatello rolled his eyes at the two playfully, reaching for the redhead's hand, blushing a bit. The quintet in the room continued to watch the fuzzy television screen for awhile, until April caught the tell-tale ding of the timer going off.

"There're done, Mikey," the redhead announced, getting up from the couch. Pouting, the purple clad turtle released her hand as she headed toward the kitchen with his younger brother.

"Hey, Mikey," April began suddenly as she opened the oven door, "Do you think you could teach me some Japanese really quick?" The hyper orange clad turtle looked at her with mild surprise in his eyes.

"Sure," he answered happily, "What do you want to say?"

"How do I say 'I made these for you'?" April asked a bit shyly, setting the pan of freshly baked cookies on the counter so that they could cool down.

"Ah, you want to say it to Donnie, right?" Michelangelo grinned, "Then say this: Watashi no kokoro wa anata dake ni zokushite iru." April tried pronouncing the foreign syllables, the words feeling strange on her tongue. Her orange clad teacher talked her through it, going through the sentence with her again and again until he finally assured her that she had gotten it down. Summoning up all the courage she could, April grabbed the pan of now mildly warm cookies and marched into the living room. Ignoring the two turtles on the floor for a moment, she sat on the couch and offered the cookies to the purple clad ninja.

"Um, W-Watashi no kokoro wa anata dake ni zokushite iru," April spoke hesitantly, trying to make sure she had gotten the words right. Donatello turned bright red and he began to choke on the cookie he had taken a bite of while Leonardo and Raphael just stated at her incredulously. April squirmed around a bit, feeling uncomfortable. Had she said something wrong?

"W-w-what?!" the purple clad turtle exclaimed, eyes wide and his face burning, "D-do you mean that?!"

"Well, yeah," the redhead replied in confusion, "They're a thank you for the card." Donatello's face was drained of its embarrassment and his chocolate colored eyes narrowed dangerously at the orange clad turtle who had by then burst out laughing. Swearing loudly in Japanese, the purple clad teen gave chase as Raphael and Leonardo watched in amusement, munching on cookies. April could only stare in bewilderment. Shrugging, she took a cookie for herself and bit into it. She supposed it didn't really matter what she had said.

She knew he got the message.

* * *

**{A/N:} **So, I wasn't exactlty sure what "Christmas Crackers" are, so I cheated and changed it to cookies. I'll admit I didn't really have much inspiration for this one. Also, it's not really fluffy. BUT! Prepare yourselves, because I'm making the next chapter so fricken' fluffy that you'll all suffocate. I'm serious.

_Translation:_

**_Watashi no kokoro wa anata dake ni zokushite iru_**: My heart belongs to only you.


	17. Cozy

Ch.17: Cozy

"W-w-why is it so c-c-c-cold?" Donatello asked his brother through chattering teeth. He had his arms wrapped around himself, and all of his brothers' thick wool blankets were draped over him, as well as his own. The purple scarf that April had knitted for him was placed tightly around his neck, but despite everything on him designed to keep him warm, he was still shivering, and stranded on the couch.

"I know that it's the coldest it's ever been," Leonardo shrugged, "But I can't believe it's messing you up this much." He stared at his purple clad brother in worry. "I think you should stay home for patrol tonight, Donnie. You can't function in this weather."

"I'm f-f-fine, Leo," the purple banned turtle defied, waving his older brother off, "I've b-been out in the c-cold before, r-re-remember?"

"Yeah, but it's never been this bad before," the blue clad ninja replied, dark blue eyes growing firm, "You can't even move from the couch. You're staying home tonight Donatello; that's an order from your leader, not your brother."

"No one ever listens to you as a leader or a brother, Lamenardo," a familiar gruff voice jeered. The two teens turned to see their hotheaded brother enter the room, lips curled into a smirk.

"Look, guys," Donatello interrupted before a fight could break out, "I'm p-perfectly fine. I'll be alr-right for patrol." Raphael grinned, a cruelly mischievous glint in his emerald eyes.

"Okay, Donnie," he said casually, folding his arms across his chest, "If you say you're fine, then prove it. Get off the couch, get your stick, and spar with me." The purple clad turtle visibly paled.

"W-why? I said I'm f-fine!" Donatello exclaimed, trying to cease his stutters. Raphael's grin only widened.

"Well if you're fine, then fighting me won't be a problem, will it?" the red masked ninja challenged. A few moments of silence passed as the two locked into a glaring contest, neither side willing to back temperamental teen waited for his intellectual brother to get up and make some sort of move, but nothing happened. Instead, Donatello cast his gaze downward, his expression becoming embarrassed.

"Can't do it, can ya Genius?" Raphael smirked, leaning toward his younger brother's face, "So stay put on the couch like a good boy, and I won't have to knock you out!" The ninja in purple swallowed hard at his brother's threat, knowing full well that the red clad teen wouldn't hesitate to carry it out. The scientist nodded meekly in an affirmative response, showing his older brother that he understood. Raphael grinned triumphantly and leaned back, throwing the blue clad turtle leader a haughty look.

"See Leo?" he said, gesturing to the now obedient Donatello, "That's how you give people orders." Ocean blue eyes narrowed at the emerald ones glittering with smug happiness. The turtle in blue left the lair pouting, snippets of complaints and curses coming in hushed tones from under his breath. Donatello sighed as he watched his red banned brother continue to celebrate his little victory.

"Okay, well, th-that's great f-f-for you guys, but wh-what am I sup-posed to d-do tonight?" the violet masked turtle bit out. Raphael stopped in his gloating for a moment to shrug at him.

"I dunno, watch tv? Die on the couch?" He then pointed to his face, which held no emotion save for a raised brow, "Does it look like I care?" The red clad teen turned and left the living room waving his brother off, not giving him a backwards glance.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," he called out as he walked away.

"Hey guys!" Donatello immediately groaned as he heard the only person the turtles knew shout out her greeting. This was the last thing he needed today. Normally, he would be overjoyed to have April in the lair, ecstatic. But not now, not when he was so pathetically weak he couldn't even get off the couch. He heard Raphael's laughter coming from one of rooms, causing him to growl at thin air. He tried to melt into the couch with the blankets piled on top of him as he heard approaching footsteps, wanting to just disappear.

"Have you guys left for patrol already? I-Donnie!" April gasped out as she noticed the giant lump of wool on the couch, chocolate colored eyes peeping out sheepishly at her from the darkness underneath all of the blankets. Slowly he got up, knowing in the back of his mind that it had been stupid to try to hide, and he gave her an embarrassed grin.

"H-hey, April," he stuttered, shivering violently as the blankets slipped off of him. He immediately gathered them back up and put them back in their place around himself. She rushed over to him, kneeling down on the floor and gazing up at him in worry.

"Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" She asked in a slight panic. She grasped his hand, then immediately drew it back and let out a small squeak.  
"You're freezing!" The redhead exclaimed, standing up, "You're not going out like this, are you?"

"No, he isn't," Leonardo replied before Donatello could, stepping back into the living room. He was followed by his red and orange clad brothers, both of them wearing teasing grins.

"Yeah," Michelangelo snickered, "Donnie's too cold to even get up." The purple clad turtle glared at his younger orange clad brother as well as his now chuckling red banned one. April's sky colored irises narrowed at them as well, and she put her hands on her hips as she scowled at them.

"Oh come on April!" Raphael complained, "You don't see us whining about the cold! We should be allowed to make fun of him!"

"You shouldn't be allowed to make fun of him under any circumstance!" April scolded, earning herself raised brows and teasing smirks.

"Woah, calm down Powderpuff!" Raphael retorted, putting his hands up in surrender, "I didn't mean to embarrass your boyfriend. Obviously, that's your job." The red masked teen grinned as he motioned to the blushing turtle on the couch. The human girl's gaze softened a bit, a small blush beginning to form on her cheeks.

"It's time for patrol guys," Leonardo announced lightheartedly,glancing between his genius brother and their human companion, "Let's leave the lovebirds to themselves." The three ninja turtles then rushed out of the lair, their laughter bouncing off the walls and echoing throughout the rooms. The two teens left in the room avoided each other's gazes, blushing awkwardly.

"Um, do you want some tea to warm you up?" April asked hesitantly, meeting the purple clad turtle's chocolate brown gaze. He shook his head, still shivering.

"Already t-tried it," he grinned weakly, "D-d-doesn't w-work." The girl let out a soft 'oh' then fell silent. She watched as the turtle on the couch tried to make himself more comfortable. He was laying down, his head and upper shoulders leaning against the couch's arm as a makeshift pillow of sorts. Despite the four blankets and scarf on him, he was still visibly shivering. The girl removed the thick jacket she had on and placed it on the floor. Walking back over to him, she sat back down and rested her head against the couch.

"Sorry I can't help..." she muttered softly to him. He chuckled lightly and reached down to grab her hand.

"D-don't worry about it. You're h-helping just by b-being here with me." She smiled and rolled her eyes at the corniness of his words. She stared absently at the blankets on him, her eyes widening as an idea began to dawn on her. She got up abruptly, momentarily startling the turtle in purple.

"W-what's wro-"

"I, um, I have an idea to help you," April began, her cheeks turning pink, "But, don't freak out, okay? If you don't like it just tell me." Donatello slowly nodded, a bit wary of what the human girl was plotting. Biting her lower lip, the redhead removed her boots and ripped all of the turtle's blankets off of him. The scientist was immediately hit by a freezing cold, causing him to yelp in frightened surprise.

"APRIL! Wh-what are you-?!" The boy halted in mid question as the cold disappeared and warmth enveloped him. His redheaded love had draped herself over him like some sort of living human blanket. Grabbing the blankets she had pulled away from him earlier, she threw them over them both, then she wrapped her arms around his scarf covered neck.

"Is...this better?" April asked shyly, cuddling into the turtle's familiarly comfortable plastron. Donatello couldn't respond, his mind had gone blank. Not trusting himself to speak at the moment, he decided to wrap his arms around her instead, trying to tell her that this was better than anything he could think of. She smiled and nuzzled him gently, resting her head underneath his chin. He affectionately nuzzled back, tightening his grip on her as he smiled.

"So are you ever gonna make cookies again?" Donatello asked softly, "I actually would like to help you bake some." April mentally made a note of this, resolving to buy some gingerbread mix. She didn't know he had an interest in baking.

"I'll bring some," the girl promised, "I would love to make cookies with you." Both teens stifled yawns, trying not to fall asleep in the warm atmosphere. Their lids began to droop, alertness disappearing from their minds.

"I like it when we cuddle," April muttered groggily. The two teens were nodding off by this time, causing them to freely speak their minds. "It makes me feel happy, and safe."

"I like it too," Donatello responded, just as sleepily, "I like being with you."

"Then let's just be together. That way we can both be happy..." April trailed off softly, closing her eyes.

"That sounds nice," Donatello yawned. He planted a soft kiss on the crown of the girl's head before leaning back and closing his eyes as well, "Night April."

"Night Donnie," the girl whispered back. The two snuggled closer together, only thoughts of each other in their minds as they drifted off into sleep.

The cold couldn't touch the two under the coziness they felt in each other's arms.

* * *

**{A/N:} ...**I warned you. I really hope I didn't kill anyone with this. Sorry if I did. This is probably my favorite chapter out of the all the ones I've written so far. Anyway, I really want to thank you guys for over 100 reviews, I never thought anything like this would happen, it just makes me so happy... I just... *cries*


	18. Party

**{A/N:}** Hello my lovely readers! I have a little competition going on with this chapter. I was inspired by something when I wrote this. Here's the contest: The first person who correctly guesses what I was inpired by will win an Apritello one-shot dedicated to them, along with getting to tell me what they'd like to see in it! It can be anything you want, any rating, and any genre (or just give me a random made-up word and I'll work with that). Contest ends when the next chapter is up, so get your guesses in!

* * *

Ch.18: Party

Donatello's eyes slowly fluttered open, aware of a cozy warmth all around him, but nothing else. He stretched out, but quickly halted when he felt something on top of him move. Glancing down, he saw fiery orange peeking out from beneath the blankets, and he caught quiet murmurs of a female voice. The awkward scientist froze, the moments of before he had fallen asleep coming back to him. His face began to burn as he opted to replace his hands around the girl's lithe body. He smiled, just reveling in the fact that he was able to hold her and be with her, so serenely, so calmly, so peacefully.

"WE'RE BAAAACCCKK~!" That was immediately shattered by his brothers. April jolted awake with a squeak, gazing up into chocolate brown eyes with surprise written on her features.

"Quiet you dope! If they don't know we're coming, we could catch them doing something!" The two teens stared at each other before glancing down and realizing how intimate their position was. They quickly scrambled away from each other, resulting in them being seated on opposite ends of the couch just as a turtle in blue walked in, followed closely by his orange and red clad brothers.

"Told you they wouldn't be doing anything," Leonardo remarked, slipping his katanas from his back to put them away. Raphael just scowled while Michelangelo continued to stare at the two teens on the couch. He narrowed his bright blue eyes, walked behind the couch and glanced between April and Donatello, putting his hand on his chin in thought.

"Ooooooo!" He exclaimed suddenly as his eyes widened in realization, "Ooooo! Ooooo!"

"Wh-what?" Donatello bit out quickly, trying not to give anything away to his brothers. The hyper orange clad ninja only grinned and pointed accusingly at both of them.

"Sitting on opposite ends of the couch, I'm not stupid!" Raphael was about to make a snarky insult when he realized that the two teens on the couch had begun to blush, and he decided that his freckled brother could wait.

"Oh-ho! Getting cozy in the love nest are we?" The red banned turtle grinned, emerald eyes shinning with sadistic glee.

"Nothing happened!" April huffed, glaring at the turtle as her cheeks turned the color of his mask. Donatello nodded his agreement, trying to prevent his family from teasing them further.

"Yeah, and I'm a cocktail singer," Raphael sneered in sarcasm.

"Spike probably thinks so," Leonardo smirked as his temperamental brother spluttered, face turning red from anger and embarrassment.

"Why you little-" Just as the scarlet masked ninja was about to violently lunge at his older brother a small blip sounded out. All four boys looked to the redhead in the room, watching curiously as she sheepishly pulled her phone from her pocket. She stared at the screen for a few moments before typing in a response, then proceeded to send one more message before shoving her phone back into her pocket.

"What was that?" Michelangelo asked. Leonardo shot him a glare, most likely for being 'rude' yet again. April just smiled at the young turtle, not minding the question in the least.

"It was just a massive school wide invite to some guy's party," the redhead shrugged, "But I'm not going, so it doesn't matter." Michelangelo's eyes grew wide and glazed as he sighed happily.

"Wow, that sounds so cool," he said, "Can you imagine going to a party? Wait, did you say you're not going?" April nodded in response as she grabbed the tv control.  
"Why not?!" the hyper orange clad turtle exclaimed in a sort of whine.

"I don't really like parties," the girl said nonchalantly, "And most of the time, these kinds of parties have ah,...undesirables." Michelangelo frowned, not really understanding the meaning in her words. She tried to console him, if that was the word, by saying, "I do like to dance though."

"I like dancing too!" the young freckled turtle exclaimed happily. The girl raised a brow.

"You dance?" she asked in surprised amusement. The orange clad ninja excitedly nodded. She turned her gaze to the other three turtles in the room. "Do you guys dance too?" They were silent, awkwardly avoiding their gazes from her.

"Nah, these guys don't dance," Michelangelo grinned, "Raph moves like an overweight cow, Leo is a prick, and Donnie's too shy." All three brothers glared at the youngest turtle, busting out into angry complaints. The hyper ninja happily ignored them, instead focusing on the amused redhead.

"We should have a dance party tomorrow, just you 'n me!" Michelangelo grinned and jerked a thumb toward his brothers, "It's not like they'll dance even if we invite them anyway."

"Hey! We resent that!" Leonardo scowled, crossing his arms. His younger orange clad brother just raised a brow.

"Oh yeah? Then prove me wrong," Michelangelo challenged, "Come to the dance party here tomorrow."

"We live in the same house you dope!" Raphael growled, "We're gonna be here anyway!" April could only laugh as she said goodbye to her friends, looking forward to seeing them all dance.

The next night, April walked into the living room with her arms full of soda, chips, and other kinds of junk food she could get her hands on. She walked into the kitchen and placed the items on the table before walking back into the living room. Looking around, she noticed a slightly battered stereo in a corner of the room. She went over and kneeled down in front of it and plugged it into the socket in the wall.

"Oh, hey April," a familiar voice greeted in surprise, "When did you get here?" The redhead looked over her shoulder to see a tall, purple masked turtle approaching her.

"Just now," the girl smiled, looking back at the stereo, "Where are the guys?"

"They went to go get the pizza," the scientist replied. He watched curiously as she continued to mess around with the boom box. "What are you doing?"

"Just trying to see if I can...ah-ha! Got it!" the girl exclaimed triumphantly. She stood up and turned to the purple clad ninja just as the slow, doleful sound of a piano began to leak out softly from the the stereo's speakers. Her eyes seemed to shine as she realized the tune that had come on.

"Oh, I love this song. It's from my favorite movie," she sighed dreamily, blushing a bit and beaming at the purple clad turtle. She rushed over to him and grabbed onto his arm. "Dance with me? Please?"

"Oh, b-but I don't...I mean I can't..." he began to say, but he stopped when he saw the pleading look on her face. He sighed and nodded, causing her to let out a happy little squeal. Taking one hand in hers, she heard him audibly swallow as she guided his other hand onto her waist. She then began to lead him in a hesitant waltz, letting him get used to the rhythm and movement. He stumbled a bit at first, but he steadily grew more confident. Glancing down at her, he smiled and suddenly took full control of the dance, twirling them around the room to the time of the languid music.

_"He's a wonderful dancer,"_ the redhead realized. His abilities as a ninja shined through, his steps silent and every movement as graceful as they could possibly be as they seemed to glide smoothly across the floor. He twirled her around, grinning all the way through. When he brought her back, she cuddled into him, resting her head against his plastron. Surprised, he quickly looked down at her, but then he smiled, chocolate brown eyes softening. As they continued to dance around the room, they were unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching them from the doorway of the living room. Michelangelo, Leonardo, and even Raphael grinned at each other as they peered at the dancing teens, content with letting them have their privacy for a bit.

The party may have started without them, but they didn't mind in the least.


	19. Ice

**{A/N:}** Hello again my readers! Now, as you recall, I had a contest up on my previous chapter that had you guess what I was inspired by. Many of you guessed correctly (Was it really that obvious?) But sadly, only one of you could guess it first. The winner of the contest and the Apriltello one-shot prize is...:

The lovely saphira494! Congradulations! Now, don't fret guys, there will be plenty of contests to enter and many other Apriltello one-shots to win in the future, I promise. For now, please enjoy th newest chapter in the Advent Calendar!

* * *

Ch. 19: Ice

"So, having a good time?" Leonardo smirked as he walked into the room just as the sound of the piano softly died out. Raphael and Michelangelo followed, teasing grins on their faces. The waltzing teens glanced up at their entrance, and immediately broke away from each other, the beginnings of a blush on their cheeks.

"Aw, let's leave 'em alone guys," Michelangelo grinned, "I want to get this party kicking!" The hyper orange clad turtle pushed in between the two flustered teens to make his way to the stereo. He crouched down in front of it and put on some of his own music, letting out a happy noise.

"C'mon April, let's do this!" Michelangelo exclaimed, grabbing the human girl away from his purple clad brother. The teen made a move as if to stop his brother, but then just smiled as he saw the redhead begin to laugh at the youngest turtle's antics. The quintet spent the night dancing, eating food, and just being with each other, together, as a family. It wasn't until later in the night when Splinter came into the room to shut the party down, did the teens feel the need to express their disappointment.

"He's right guys," April said as the turtles let out a groan, "I have to get home now anyway."

"I'll walk you home then," Donatello quickly offered, "It gets dangerous at night." The redhead threw him a smile that got his heart thumping, and he didn't mind as his brothers quietly snickered in the background.

"Actually, yeah, that would be great," the girl replied a bit shyly. The purple clad teen seemed rather surprised at her answer, but his face then broke out into a wide, gap-toothed grin.

"Ok! Just, uh, let me get my stuff," the boy fumbled eagerly, rushing off to get whatever he needed. He was back in an instant, his purple scarf around his neck and his bo staff strapped to his back.

"Alright, let's head out," he said, brown eyes warm and bright as he held a hand out to her. She took it with no hesitation, smiling right back at him. She waved a good-bye to her extended family, and they waved back, shouting playful teases as the two teens made their way out of the lair hand in hand.

"No, I'm serious!" Donatello laughed, "It just caught on fire! We honestly don't know how it happened!"

"Oh come on!" April giggled back playfully as they walked through the alleys of New York, "He can't be that bad of a cook!"

"Look me in the eyes," the purple clad turtle said firmly, pointing to the pools of chocolate brown under the violet, "Do these look like the eyes of a liar?" The redhead met the boy's gaze and held it, getting lost in his chocolate colored irises. She felt her heart begin to thump and her cheeks felt a bit heated. Swallowing lightly, she answered.

"No," she muttered softly to him, gripping his hand tighter and rubbing her thumb against the cold, green skin. Her lips curled up into a small, gentle smile, "They don't. And I don't think they ever could be." They halted at the corner of an alleyway, just gazing fondly at each other.

"To you, at least," the purple masked terrapin chuckled gently, bringing his hand up to sweep her fiery orange bangs out of her face. He let his hand rest on her cheek, cupping it affectionately. He drew in a sharp breath as she placed her free hand on top of his. She closed her eyes and lightly nuzzled into the olive green skin, making his heart leap into his throat as if to prevent him from speaking. She opened her eyes again and looked at him coyly, a sweet smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. He swallowed hard. He had to say it. There was never a more perfect moment.

"April?" he asked hesitantly. She kept his hand in place as she softly responded.

"Yeah?"

"Well, uh, I just..." he grew flustered as he struggled to find the right words. She moved closer to him, but kept his hand on her, trying not to break their contact. He grew even more nervous, his speech skills and his intelligent mind failing him as he tried harder to find his voice an the words that eluded him.

"I...look, we've been spending a lot of time together, lately, and I...I just..." he couldn't seem to think anymore as he noticed that her face was closer to his. And she was getting closer.

"Uh-huh...?" she murmured in a near whisper, her lips dangerously close to his. He could feel her warm breath, and his brain just blanked.

"Wanted...to say...that I..." They were so close, he could hear his heart painfully hammer against his chest as he began to close his eyes.

The two jumped and snapped back to attention as they heard the sharp screech of car tires. In a panic, they pulled away from each other and clambered onto the fire escape above them. The purple clad ninja helped his human companion up and put his finger to his lips. She nodded and tried to melt into the shadows like her terrapin warrior did next to her. She briefly marveled at how he was able to just disappear like he did, even when she was right next to him, her sky colored eyes had trouble detecting his dark outline and features. For a moment, she felt as though he really had disappeared, but was reassured as she caught sight of brown eyes and felt his hand once again rest on hers. His eyes were narrowed at the streets below them, an when she tore her gaze away from him to look, she had to stifle a gasp. Standing there were three men, utterly identical in their blank, monotone looks and matching suits. They opened the doors to the back of their van, pulling out a container of brightly glowing ooze before heading in the opposite direction from which they came. Once the ninja in purple was sure they were gone, he quickly assisted the redhead off of the escape and set her hastily on the ground.

"What are the Kraang doing?" the girl asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," the turtle in purple grimaced, shaking his head, "But I'm gonna go find out."

"Then let's go," the redhead said, beginning to follow the men in suits. She was stopped by a strong hand on her arm, and when she turned, she saw brown eyes burning into her.

"You're not going April," he commanded firmly.

"What?" she asked, a bit dumbfounded and surprised.

"I said you're not going," he repeated, his eyes set, "It's way too dangerous."

"Which is why I have to go," the girl replied, her sky colored eyes narrowing, "You could get hurt if you go alone."

"I'm not going alone, I'm gonna call the guys and have Mikey take you back to the lair where you'll be safe," he answered, irritating her further.

"But you're not gonna wait for the guys, you're planning on heading to them right now aren't you?" she accused, pushing away from him and placing her hands on her hips. She caught him wince slightly, confirming his ploy along with her suspicions.

"You are! You're such an idiot! You know you shouldn't rush off into battle by yourself!" she exclaimed angrily, her eyes flashing with worry.

"Look, I can hold them off until the guys get here, but I have to go now or else we'll lose them!" Donatello bit out, frustration beginning to boil in him.  
"At least wait until the guys get here first!" she snapped back.

"It'll be too late by then!" the purple clad turtle retorted. His hands shot out and gripped her shoulders a bit too tightly; she would have made a noise if she hadn't been locked into a heated glaring contest with him.

"I'm going April. And you're heading back to the lair," he said in finality, telling her that he expected no argument. She fumed even more and her eyes flashed with a mix of hurt, anger, and worry.

"Fine," she spat out slowly, throwing his hands off of her and crossing her arms. His eyes softened a bit as he took in how angry the girl was.  
"April..." he began reaching out for her hand. She stepped back from him, her sky colored eyes smoldering.

"Go," she said coldly. The purple masked turtle bit his lower lip before hesitantly stepping in the direction the alien androids had gone in. He threw a glance back at her over his shoulder, but she was already melting away into the shadows, leaving. He sighed and dashed off after the enemy, the seeds of guilt beginning to sprout within him. The two teens went in separate ways, lost in similar thoughts.

They had always been on thin ice, but now it seemed that it was beginning to crack.

* * *

**{A/N:}**...I'm just evil, aren't I?


	20. Tea

Ch.20: Tea

April made her way through the dark alleyways in a rage, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the ground. Spotting a rusty, discarded can, she drew her leg back and kicked it with full force, trying to vent her anger out on the poor, inanimate object. It flew off into gloom, but instead of landing with a tink against the ground or wall, she heard a familiar voice let out a small yelp of pain.

"Ow! You didn't have to do that! It's just me!" April sighed, not the least bit surprised. After all, Donnie told her he had sent an escort.

"Sorry," the girl mumbled, "I didn't mean to hit you." Michelangelo gave her a sympathetic look, his bright blue eyes downcast.

"Was it that bad of a fight?" the orange clad turtle questioned softly. The redhead sighed and closed her eyes, still feeling frustrated.

"Maybe. It might have been, I don't know," the girl bit out sadly, "There was some yelling, but he just...and then he...ugh! I just feel so helpless right now." April finished, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she glared at the pitch black concrete beneath her feet. Michelangelo could only stare at his friend in worry, not knowing how he could make her feel better. Finally, he settled for throwing a comforting arm around her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.

"C'mon," he said softly, "I'll take you back to the lair." The redhead gave up and followed quietly, making no protest as she was returned to the turtles' home. When they arrived, he gave her a quick hug and promised to make sure that Donatello didn't get hurt. And to knock an apology out of him while he was at it. April smiled weakly, waving him off.

"Something is bothering you," a wise voice behind her said after the orange clad turtle left. It wasn't a question, it was a fact. April turned to see an elderly rat sitting at a low table, his claws curled around a cup. He looked up at her, his warm brown eyes inviting her to sit with him.

"Would you care to tell me what it is that troubles you so?" The redhead sighed at walked over to the small table, settling in for a talk. Splinter calmly grabbed a second cup and the teapot, pouring her a mug of the steaming hot liquid. He set it down gently in front of her, and she thanked him as she wrapped her fingers around the burning mug, warming her freezing hands. She gazed sadly into the green tea, all the anger she had felt earlier disappearing like the rising steam.

"We got into a fight," she began lamely, knowing that he knew exactly who she was talking about. The girl saw the aging rat nod his head slightly, indicating that he was listening and that he knew who she had gotten into a fight with.

"He knows he shouldn't go charging into battle without any help," the girl continued, sky colored eyes narrowing at the cup of tea, "And yet he goes off and does it anyway. Why? He knows it's dangerous. He knows he could get seriously hurt. Then why does he do it?" Splinter sighed, this was a feeling he knew all too well, one he still had trouble dealing with.

"Donatello is a ninja, Miss O'Neil, that is what he has trained his whole life to be," Splinter began, "He knows the dangers that he faces. And he also knows how to defend himself. But injury is inevitable in our way of life, especially now. We can never be sure when we must fight, when we will be injured. It is something that no one can predict. Or prevent."

"That's what worries me, Sensei," April breathed out shakily, tightening her grip around the mug of tea, "I know that he has to fight. I know that he'll get hurt. But what happens when something goes wrong? When the injury is too great? I knew about all of this the moment I got involved with all of you. But...but now, I..." April closed her eyes and paused for a brief moment before she continued in a soft, terrified, voice.

"Now it's different. I...care about him, Sensei. A lot. And that makes me all the more terrified. I don't want to see him hurt. I-I don't even want to think about what could happen to him. It scares me." The girl could no longer stop her shoulders from shaking, but she refused to cry. So instead, she harshly bit her lip as she continued to gaze into the green liquid, waiting for a response.

"It is natural to feel worried about the people you love when they face constant danger," Splinter answered softly, "It is an emotion that I know well. I know how you feel, Miss O'Neil. Every time they go out, I feel it. The constant shadow, the question of 'Are they are alright?' but not having an answer. It is something that one can never grow accustomed to. Being in love with a ninja makes it all the more harsh. And that is why I must warn you that being with him will be difficult. Love is a complicated emotion, and often times, it can be a burden." April looked up and found his warm brown eyes firmly set on her.

"But with that burden comes the greatest of happinesses. The moments that the two of you share together are the ones that are the most beautiful. He knows this as well. That is why he will always return to you. He believes in you, and therefore you must believe in him. Our love is why we must have faith. We do not know how they are at this moment, so we must believe that they are fine. They are strong. He is strong. Believe in him." The redhead gave the elderly rat a weak smile, her bright blue eyes shining with unshed tears that had gathered. Bringing the now slightly warm cup of tea to her lips, she drank with her surrogate father as they waited for their turtles to return home to them. She was still a bit sore over her argument with her purple clad ninja, but she knew they would work their way through it, somehow. She just needed him to come back safely. The redhead gave a smile at the silly thought. She knew he would come back to her safely. She believed in him.

She just hoped that they didn't fight like this again.

* * *

**{A/N:}** I honestly don't know why, but I was hit hard with sudden Splinter feels. So I wrote this. Besides, I needed more of my OG Master Pimp of Badassitude in my story. So here we have April and Splinter having a father/daughter bonding moment...Yup.


	21. Snowman

**{A/N:}** And now, back to your regularly schedueled Apriltello

* * *

Ch.21: Snowman

It was getting later into the night, and the turtles had yet to return to the lair. April knew that her aunt was getting worried by now, and she would most likely ground the redhead for staying out so late. Reluctantly, the teen excused herself from the company of the elderly rat and headed home, feelings of worry plaguing her. When she finally arrived home, she was greeted by a furious aunt who yelled a long lecture about staying out into the girl's ear. As she expected, the livid woman took away her freedom of visiting her friends, and demanded that the she come straight home after school for the next week. April wearily nodded, glad that she at least got to keep her cellphone. She walked up to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, tiredly rubbing at her face. Suddenly she stiffened, aware of the creaking of her window and the chill that swept through the room.

"April...?" a familiar voice whispered out. The girl flipped on the lamp on her bedside table and was at the window in an instant.

"Donnie!" the redhead breathed out in relief, pulling the ninja into a tight hug. She then held him at arm's length and began to look him over, checking for any serious injury. He was a bit bruised and dirty, but otherwise unhurt.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking up to meet his tired chocolate colored eyes.

"I'm fine," the turtle smiled softly. Then he shifted nervously, letting out a sigh. "Look, April, about earlier..."

"Forget it. It's okay, I don't care anymore. Just...just please, _please_ promise me that you won't do something that'll get you hurt if you can avoid it. I don't want something to happen to you because you weren't careful."

"I promise," the purple clad turtle agreed, giving her a small smile.

"Good," the girl smiled, cuddling back into his cold plastron, "Now that we have that out of the way, unfortunately, I can't come to the lair for the next week."

"What? Why not?" the turtle asked in disappointed surprise. April sighed and brought him even closer to her.

"My aunt freaked out because I stayed out way too late. I mean, it's like four in the morning right now," the redhead chuckled softly, "So I won't get to see you for a a while. But you can still text me."

"Then I will. But you should get to sleep," the purple clad terrapin said, wriggling out of her embrace. The girl frowned; it wasn't like him to pull away from her like that, but she made no comment. The boy hastily waved goodbye and made his way out the window, vanishing from her sight as he melted into the darkness. For the first day of her grounding, her purple clad scientist texted her constantly, but then, his texts became shorter, more rushed. Eventually they had dwindled down to no communication at all, and by the end of the week, April became even more worried. The next day she finally made her long awaited return to the lair.

"April!" Michelangelo exclaimed, worry clouding his bright eyes. The redhead grew a bit alarmed, noticing the look of concern on his normally happy face.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" the girl questioned as the young freckled turtle pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's Donnie," the orange clad turtle answered, "He-"

"He won't come out of his room," Leonardo explained gravely, walking up to the two teens, "He's so focused on...I don't even know what, that he won't step foot out of his stupid lab! He hasn't gotten any sleep, and just recently hasn't been eating."

"We've tried getting him out, but he won't move," Michelangelo continued in a panicked rush, looking up at her sadly.

"So we're hoping that you can get that idiot out of the death trap he's built for himself," Raphael joined in grimly, worry over his brother's health shining in the emerald green of his eyes. April looked to each of the concerned brothers, feeling more and more worried by the second. He had broken his promise.

"I...I'll see what I can do," the girl answered shakily, rushing off to the purple clad turtle's room. She knocked twice on his door, but all she got in response was a muffled, "Go away!" She didn't bother announcing herself to him, or following his command. Pushing the door open, the human girl was greeted by the sight of the purple clad turtle haunched over his desk, working intensely. He seemed to be reading, books were messily spread all around the table, some words highlighted, others having markings, notes, or tags.

"Look, I told you guys that I'm not leaving!" the violet masked ninja growled out. She leaned away ffrom the door, taken aback by how angry he sounded without even the slightest provocation.

"Donnie, it's me. Um, we're all going to go build some snowmen in the park, do you want to go?" the girl asked, trying to sound cheerful and inviting.

"No thanks," the purple clad turtle bit out irritably, not looking up. She winced, his harsh voice cutting into her.

"Are you sure? It's gonna be really fun, and-"

"I said no!" the terrapin snapped out, standing up and facing her with cold and agitated chocolate irises. The human girl recoiled, the weak cheeriness she had breaking as she stared sadly at him. The anger within him vanished the moment he registered the frightened look on her face and the disappointment in her eyes.

"Oh, shell, April, I-" he reached out for her, but she backed away, her eyes downcast.

"You broke your promise," she whispered softly, her voice small and sorrowful.

"I know. I know I did, but I had a good reason," he explained tiredly, putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him, wanting to know exactly why he had done this.

"Why?" she asked him.

"I...you don't need to know the reason," he said in a rush, avoiding her sky colored gaze. She narrowed her eyes slightly at him, confused.

"I don't need to know? You're destroying yourself like this Donnie! I need to know why you're doing it!"

"You don't need to know!" the purple clad turtle snapped, his lack of sleep making him edgy and irritable. She glared at him, pushing against his plastron with one hand.

"I don't need to know, or you just don't trust me?" The redhead challenged, making him scowl.

"Of course I trust you," he responded, "I just need to keep you safe!"

"Keep me safe?! I don't need you to take care of me all the time! I'm training so that I can help you, but you won't let me!" the redhead hissed, feeling anger bubbling up within her as he seemed to not care that she had been training so hard for him. Why couldn't he understand that she just wanted to keep him safe?

"Because you could get hurt! You're not as strong as you think you are, you haven't trained as long as we have!" he retorted, his agitation boiling in him and making his volume level rise.

"So you think I'm weak? Is that why you wouldn't let me go after the Kraang with you?" the girl demanded, bringing up what she thought was going to remain forgotten, "Do you just think of me as a burden?!"

"YES!" the purple clad turtle finally exploded in a rage, throwing his arms off of her. He immediately fell into silent shock as he saw her expression. Tears had begun to stream down her pale, porcelain cheeks, her shoulders shaking. He froze, not knowing what to do.

"I only wanted to help you. I wanted to keep you safe. Because you're important to me. I..." the redhead broke off and ran out of the room, not throwing the still frozen turtle a backwards glance. The second he saw her figure running away from him, he tried to reach out for her, yelling her name.

"April! APRIL! Wait!" he gave chase, but the girl was already stepping foot out of the lair.

"Please, I didn't mean it!" But it was too late, she was already gone. "I didn't mean it..." he whispered out brokenly, crumpling down onto the floor. He stared at the door, eyes wide and tears silently flowing.

He should have built that snowman with her.

* * *

**{A/N:}**...Just kidding.


	22. Gingerbread

Ch.22: Gingerbread

His brothers and his father had always told him that he was a genius. Far more intelligent than others his age, and older, and oftentimes, he proved it true through all of his research, his inventions, and his creative solutions.

But he didn't feel like a genius right now.

The purple clad teen hadn't moved from his spot, he was just kneeling there, frozen. His brothers had all tried to snap him out of it, but to no avail. Nothing they did worked. Their brother was gone, seemingly dead to the world around him.

"We can't have him here like this," Leonardo finally sighed out. He looked over to his red clad brother. "He needs to get some sleep. Knock him out, Raph." The scarlet masked ninja nodded and moved behind the turtle on the floor.

"Sorry 'bout this Donnie," Raphael muttered. He drew his hand back and swiftly struck the back of the scientist's neck. The turtle in purple let out a strangled gasp at the contact, but then fell silent as he forcefully felt his consciousness slip away from him. His brothers caught him before he could hit the ground, and began to drag him back into his room to put him in bed. As Leonardo and Raphael tucked the purple clad turtle into his blankets, Michelangelo walked over to the books strewn all over the desk. His eyes widened as he took in his older brother's research, realizing why he had been staying up and skipping meals.

"Guys, look at this," the orange clad turtle exclaimed quietly, trying not to wake his sleeping brother. He held one of the books in his hands, offering it to his older blue and red masked brothers. The turtle leader grabbed the book from Michelangelo's hands, looking it over as Raphael studied it from over his brother's shoulder.

"Is this...? This is a medical book," Leonardo said in surprise, his brows furrowing. Walking over to the desk, he grabbed one book after another, discovering that every single one had to do with medicine or anatomy.

"These are all medicine books," the blue clad turtle said, ocean colored eyes narrowing in puzzlement. "Has he been reading all of these...?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Raphael snorted, picking up the stack of papers that seemed to be covered in messy notes.

"But why so suddenly? He's never done anything like this before. Well, at least not this...urgently," the turtle replied in confusion, trying to find the right words. His brothers only shrugged at him, and with a sigh, the ninja in blue led them all into the living room to let their brother get some sleep.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Michelangelo teased gently as Donatello stumbled into the living room. He paused for a moment, thinking, "Um I mean, good evening? Morning? I'm confused." The purple clad turtle shook his head, and made his way over to the couch.

"How long was I out?" he asked, voice raspy from going so long without use. He slightly winced, trying to get used to the feel of speaking again.

"About two or three days, I think?" Michelangelo responded thoughtfully. He shrugged, "But I'm not really sure."

"Days?!" the purple exclaimed weakly, "Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"You needed sleep," a new voice interrupted. The two teens looked up to see their older blue clad brother approaching them, a plate in his hands. "And now you need to eat." He handed the plate to his younger brother, pushing it into his hands when the scientist tried to refuse.

"I'm not hungry Leo," the intelligent teen protested. However, his body happened to decide that that moment in time was perfect for a betrayal, his stomach growling loudly. Leonardo raised an amused brow as Donatello averted his gaze, face growing warm.

"Eat Donnie. You should know what happens when you don't eat or sleep, with all those medical books you've been reading," Leonardo remarked as his younger brother took the plate. He let out a sigh and began to pick at his food.

"So I'm guessing you saw my desk?" he questioned hesitantly. The blue and orange clad turtles threw him matching deadpanned looks.

"Why are you so interested in medicine all of a sudden?" The turtle leader interrogated curiously.

"I just...the other day got me thinking. April's been training with Splinter, and he might eventually let her go on missions with us. She'll be in constant danger. What if...what if she gets hurt? She's different than we are, Leo. I need to be prepared for any kind of injury she could receive. And then what if...shell, what if the injury's too great? What if-"

"What ifs aren't facts, Donnie," Leonardo interrupted gently, keeping his brother from rambling on further.

"And why didn't you just tell April about this? She was so worried about you."

"I didn't tell her _because_ I didn't want her to worry," he groaned out, "But then she got suspicious, and I snapped, then we started yelling at each other, and then I said stuff that I didn't mean, and I made her cry, then she left before I could apologize, and now she hates me, and everything's a mess, and-"

"Woah, breathe, Donnie, breathe!" Michelangelo cried out in a panic. He placed a hand on the purple clad turtle's shoulder.

"April doesn't hate you. She likes you too much to hate you," he assured his brother, "She's just upset that you broke your promise. She wants you to trust her, and have faith that she's strong, and that you can rely on her." Donatello looked at his brother in sheer surprise.

"How do you know that?" he asked incredulously.

"How do you think we know Genius?" a gruff voice intervened, "She told us." Emerald eyes narrowed as though in annoyance, but they shined with untold relief as he saw his brother up and eating. "You know what's a great way to get your girlfriend back though? Not killing yourself!"

"I was only trying to protect her," the purple clad turtle muttered.

"And she wants to protect you too," Leonardo replied, crossing his arms in front of him.

"So get your tail in gear, get better, and go apologize!" Raphael growled out. Donatello gave a small smile, knowing that his brother meant no actual harm...this time.

"Okay," Donatello agreed, glancing up at the clock on the wall, "I'll go a bit later, when it's dark enough."

"Wait!" Michelangelo called out, rushing into the kitchen. He returned a second later, a box in his hands. Tossing it to the turtle in purple, he grinned. "If you're gonna apologize, then make sure you do it right." Donatello glanced down at the box of gingerbread mix in his hands, giving his younger brother a grateful smile.

"C'mon, we'll help you make 'em," Michelangelo said brightly as Raphael rolled his eyes but nevertheless joined his side, "Except you Leo. You can stay here."

"Oh come on guys!" The blue clad teen whined as his brothers laughed their way into the kitchen, "I promise that I won't set the toaster on fire this time! Or anything else, I swear!"

Donatello just kept on laughing as he proceeded to do some baking with his brothers, his goal in mind. He was going to make up with her.

And he was going to do it right.

* * *

**{A/N:}** ...BROTHERLY FLUFF. So Donnie's making gingerbread so that he can go make up with April. What do you think guys? Should she forgive him?


	23. Frozen

Ch.23: Frozen

Three days. It had been three days since she had seen or heard from her purple clad ninja turtle. And she missed him. It was the day before Christmas Eve, December twenty third. Now she feared she wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with her terrapin scientist. She just didn't know how she was going to make up with him this time. This was an issue that wasn't going to just go away; they needed to talk it out and resolve it. She just hoped that they could come to some sort of compromise. The redhead couldn't bear the thought of losing Donatello over an argument like this, especially when it was an argument over them caring for each other.

"April! Can you run down to the store and get some groceries for me?"

"Sure, Auntie!" April shouted back. She let out a sigh as she stepped away from the window. Apparently, today wasn't going to be the day she made up with the purple masked ninja, but hopefully, it would be soon. The teenage girl went downstairs and headed out to get whatever it was her aunt needed. A little while later, the window of the girl's room creaked open, brown eyes hesitantly peeking in.

"April...?" he asked quietly, keeping the window only slightly open. There was no response, only silence.

"April?" he called again, opening the window further. Still, only the silent darkness greeted him. Donatello sighed as he pulled the window up all the way, ducking his head down as he entered into the room.

"I guess she isn't here..."the purple clad turtle muttered to himself. He looked down at the small red bag he was holding in his hand. Letting out a sigh the scientist looked around the room before glancing back at the still warm bag of gingerbread cookies in his palm. "So what am I supposed to do with these?" The ninja walked around the room a bit, taking in the warmth of it. It seemed so much emptier without the lovely redhead occupying the bed, or the chair, or the desk... Suddenly the turtle in purple brightened like he did whenever an idea struck him. He could leave the cookies on the desk for her! Donatello placed the bag on the table, then bit his lower lip as he pondered the situation. How would she know that the cookies came from him? For all she knew, the gingerbread could've come from Mikey, or Leo.

"I guess I can leave a note," Donatello mumbled to the silent room. He shook his head at himself as he opened the desk's drawers for a piece of paper and something to write with. He had to stop talking to himself. The purple clad turtle stared at the blank sheet thoughtfully, tapping the pencil in his hand against his chin. What could he write? Hastily he scribbled out a note, looked it over, then crumpled it up and threw it in the waste bin at the foot of the desk. He did this a total of five times before finally deciding that he was satisfied. A sudden tune and vibration made him jolt before he realized that it was just his T-phone. Letting out a breath, he grasped the electronic, pressed a button, and brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hey Donnie, you almost done? Raph caught sight of the Kraang in a warehouse a few streets away, we gotta go," Leo's voice said firmly from the other end of the line.

"Got it. I'm just finishing up here Leo, I'll be right there," Donatello replied just as seriously as he headed toward the window. He took one last glance at the desk to make sure the bag and note were visible before stepping out onto the fire escape, closing the window behind him.

"Are you sure that was all you needed Auntie?" April called as she began making her way up the stairs.

"That's all sweetie! Thanks for your help!" Her aunt's voice drifted up to her. Smiling, April pushed open the door to her room and stepped in, closing her door. She startled, surprised as the sweet scent of gingerbread suddenly assaulted her senses. She looked around the room, puzzled, until her eyes landed on her desk. On it was a small red bag that she knew hadn't been there when she left. Walking over to it, the redhead picked the bag up, taking note of the fact that it was still the slightest bit warm. Whoever left them had just been here a minute ago. Looking back at the desk, she noticed a note written in familiar hasty scribbles. She picked it up with one hand, holding the bag of gingerbread in the other.

_"I'm sorry"_ was scrawled across the paper, and as she read it, she couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face, or the blush that heated her cheeks. Putting the slip of paper back down on the desk, she opened the little red bag. Inside were about a dozen heart shaped cookies made of gingerbread. Taking one out, she saw that it had a border of purple icing, the letters A+D written in the middle with yellow icing. Putting it back in the bag, she retrieved another cookie, only to discover that this one was exactly the same, except that the colors of the frosting were switched. Grinning, the girl took a bite of the treat in her hand, closing her eyes as she savored the sweet taste of the spice that exploded in her mouth.

_"He must have worked hard on these,"_ the redhead thought affectionately. She was suddenly resolute. She had to make up with him; he was obviously sorry, and really, she was too. The girl didn't want to fight, and it was clear that her purple clad warrior didn't either. Maybe they both had over-reacted a bit to the whole thing. They could move past this, she knew they could. So why was she still here? She had a purple masked teenage mutant ninja turtle to get back. The sudden buzz of her cell phone in her pocket jerked the girl out of her thoughts, but nonetheless, she happily picked it up.

"Hello?" she answered a bit dreamily.

"April?" The redhead frowned at the desperate urgency of the turtle's voice.

"Leo? What's wrong?" the girl asked worriedly, straining to hear the slightly fuzzy response.

"April, it's Donnie, he's...he's hurt. Bad." The girl's mind went blank as she dropped the bag of gingerbread she had been holding. She didn't bother hanging up as she rushed out of the house, shouting a goodbye to her confused aunt. Her legs moved on their own accord, pushing her to go as fast as she could. Her body was moving rapidly.

But her heart was utterly and completely frozen.

* * *

**{A/N:}** So did anyone else get some LeoRaiRaph feels from the new episode today? No? Just me? Okay then.


	24. Rest

Ch.24: Rest

"Where is he?!" April panted out as she ran into the lair. She received no answer, just a slightly confused Sensei.

"Miss O'Neil, what is wrong?" The elderly rat asked worriedly, sensing the panic swirling in the redhead. She gazed up at him fearfully for a moment, then broke eye contact as she began pacing back and forth in restless worry.

"Donnie was hurt on their mission today Sensei," April rushed out shakily, "Leo said that it was bad, but...but I don't know how bad, or if he's lost blood, or if something's broken, or-"

"Calm down, Miss O'Neil!" Splinter interrupted, placing his claws on the girl's shoulders to stop her dizzying pacing. She returned her attention to him, locking onto his firm brown eyes.

"That's kind of hard to do right now Sensei," the girl remarked.

"I know it is. But if Donatello has been injured as you say, then we must stay calm in order to help him," he said briskly, walking away from her and into a hallway, "Come with me. We must prepare for my sons' arrival." The redhead bit her lower lip as she hastily followed the aging rat, eager to help in whatever way she could. They had just finished placing pillows and a blanket on the couch when they heard the shouts of three distressed turtles. April looked up hesitantly, afraid of what she would see. When she did, she could feel her heart stop and seize painfully. Donatello had his arms slung around Leonardo and Raphael, who were helping the barely conscious turtle walk. Michelangelo came in behind the slow trio, his face the epitome of worry as he tried to support his brother as well. The purple clad turtle had a nasty looking gash running diagonally across his plastron, the skin around the wound sizzling, as if the injury had been burned into him. There was blood splattered around it, not a grotesque amount, but enough to really worry about. April tried to be strong as she gazed at the turtle, but one look at his wound and she nearly became undone. She was on the edge of hysterical.

"Set him down," Splinter said sharply, his eyes narrowing as he took in his son's wound. Leonardo and Raphael quickly and silently obliged, laying the injured scientist gently on his back on the couch. Splinter walked over and sat on the empty space on the couch as April kneeled down on the floor next to the purple masked ninja. He studied the wound intently, stroking his beard.

"We must stop the bleeding quickly before we can clean the wound and treat the burn," he concluded hastily, looking over at the redhead on the floor. She nodded and twisted around to get the first aid kit only to find it in her face. She took it and gazed into worried bright blue eyes with as reassuring a smile as she could muster. Turning back to the turtle in the couch, she popped open the kit and retrieved some medical cloths, handing a few to the elderly rat and keeping some in her hands. Together, the two gently pressed the fabric onto the turtle's wound. Donatello hissed as they put more pressure on his plastron, the burn aching. April tried to stay focused on her task, but she couldn't stop her fingers from shaking as she used the disinfecting liquid in the kit to kill the bacteria on the injury. He cried out in pain as she swabbed him as gently as she could, the alcohol stinging enough to make tears gather in the corners of his shut eyes. His brothers were crowded around in an instant, hovering around worriedly as Splinter fetched some bandages from the kitchen. April quickly discarded the cotton in her hands as she switched it for the burn cream. The injured turtle then calmed down as he felt the familiar and soothing touch of her fingers dancing on his skin, spreading the cream around the wound. He relaxed, his chocolate brown eyes opening enough to see her working diligently on him.

"H-hey there. Fancy meeting you here," he chuckled quietly, giving her a weak gap-toothed smile. The redhead snapped her head up to him, her sky blue eyes dark with concern.

"You shut up right now," April demanded, though her expression was anything but angry. She continued to spread the medicated ointment on him, making sure that no part of the wound was missed. He sighed as he rested back against the couch's arm. A second later Splinter returned, his arms full with stark white bandages.

"Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, sit your brother up so that Miss O'Neil and I can bandage him," the aging rat directed, handing some of the bandages to the redhead on the floor. The three turtles obeyed, sitting the wounded ninja up and holding him as though he was as frail and fragile as china. The human teen and the mutated man worked quickly, wrapping the strips of white around his injury as tightly as they could without hurting him further. When they finished they set him back down, still just as gentle as before.

"Now he must rest," Splinter said wearily, "But we must keep watch over him and change his bandages regularly."

"I'll stay with him," April volunteered immediately, standing up as she walked over to the trio. The three brothers looked at each other hesitantly.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" the blue masked terrapin asked cautiously, "We left in the middle of the fight, so we're just gonna check to make sure they left or if they dropped any clues as to where they're going next. We shouldn't be gone for more than an hour. But are you sure you'll be fine?"

"I'll be okay Leo," the girl said, sky blue eyes firm, "I'll make sure he's okay too." The leader in blue bit his lip but nodded, entrusting her with the task of caring for his fallen brother. He signaled for his two remaining brothers to follow him as he left. They obeyed, but not before throwing the scientist one last look. Splinter then retired into his room, telling the redhead to call for him if something went wrong.

"Finally. I was starting to think they'd never leave," April rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to the ninja on the couch, his brown eyes staring at her intensely.

"I thought I told you to stop talking," she murmured gently as she returned to her place by his side.

"That wasn't just a 'for the moment' thing?" he asked playfully. She smiled despite herself.

"No. You need to preserve your energy. You heard Sensei, you need rest," she instructed, placing her forehead affectionately against his. She stared lovingly into his soft chocolate colored irises, feeling a blush beginning to blossom on her cheeks.

"That's hard to do when you're right here. You're very distracting you know," he muttered, rubbing his nose against hers in a display of affection. She took in a sharp breath as he stared heatedly back at her.

"Did you find the cookies?" he asked, never moving away from her.

"Yeah," the redhead smiled softly.

"Did you like them?" he questioned.

"I didn't really get to enjoy them. That's when I got the phone call from Leo." She pulled away from him then, biting her bottom lips and looking at him with big, frightened eyes.

"What happened Donnie?" she asked softly. He let out a groan, wanting to bring her against him again.

"I was fighting off one of the Kraang when one got behind me and fired. Luckily, my brothers warned me and I managed to move away just in time to prevent any really serious injury, but as you saw, it grazed me pretty badly," he explained as the redhead stroked his cheek with one hand. He leaned into her touch, nuzzling against the soft skin. He had missed it.

"I hate that I can't help you. This is the kind of thing I was afraid of," she sighed out frustratedly, averting her gaze.

"No, April, you help me way more than you think. I should've had more faith in you," he said a bit groggily as he fought to keep his eyes open. She smiled at him, her eyes softening.

"We can talk about this when you get better," the girl promised him, stepping away, "Right now, you need your rest." He tried to protest, but all that fell out of his mouth were jumbled mutters as his eyes finally closed. Taking out her phone, April sent her aunt a message telling her that she was going to stay at her friend's house for the next two days. Once she got the okay reply, April leaned over the now lightly snoring purple clad turtle and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, not catching the soft smile that appeared on his lips.

Now he could rest happily.

* * *

**{A/N:}** Guys...there's only one more chapter left...I...I...*cries*


	25. Love

**{A/N:}** Hello everyone. So this is it. The final chapter of the Advent Calendar. There is so much I'd like to say, but the most important is thank you. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read this. Thank you to all of you who left a review. Thank you to all of you who favorited or followed. **Thank you. **I am just so grateful to all of you. I hope that you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it, and that you continue to support me and this adorable couple as you have. Please enjoy the final chapter of the Advent Calendar, and I hope to see you reading and reviewing my Apriltello stories in the future. Thank you. -Arcanine

* * *

Ch. 25: Love

"April, we're back," Leonardo's voice called out softly. The redhead stood up and walked over to greet the entering trio quietly, not wanting to wake the now sleeping turtle on the couch.

"Hey guys," she said, "Any luck?" She glanced at all three of them, taking in their pouts.

"None. Those stupid aliens ran away and didn't leave a single trace," Raphael growled out, clenching his hands into tight fists, "I was really looking forward to bashing their heads in for Donnie too." April placed a hand on the seething turtle's arm in an attempt to calm him down. Glancing at her, he gave a curt nod before sulking off into the dojo.

"What about you? How is he doing?" Leonardo quickly asked, changing the subject as he removed his katanas from his back.

"He's been resting this entire time, and I just changed his bandages a minute ago," the redhead reported, leading them into the living room, "We have to change his bandages hourly to prevent any infection." The turtle in blue nodded, while the hyper freckled one gazed at her solemnly.

"So he's gonna be okay?" Michelangelo asked hesitantly, seemingly afraid of the answer as though it would physically wound him. April gave him a warm and reassuring smile.

"Yeah, he's gonna be just fine Mikey," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug. Leonardo placed a hand on her shoulder as she cuddled his younger brother. The girl looked over her shoulder to meet with a deep blue gaze.

"You should go home and get some rest April," he said quietly, not wanting to disturb his sleeping brother, "We can take it from here."

"No," the redhead answered simply. The turtle in blue started, feeling a bit surprised.

"No?" he echoed bewilderedly, ocean colored eyes wide with confusion.

"No. I'm not going anywhere. There is no way I'm leaving Donnie's side," April claimed, narrowing her eyes at the oldest ninja and placing her hands on her hips as the youngest released her. He just stared back at her in shock.

"B-but what about your Aunt?" he inquired.

"I already told her I'm staying here today and tomorrow," the girl responded triumphantly, crossing her arms in front of her and giving him a light smirk, "You're not getting rid of me that easily." The turtle in blue opened his mouth, but closed it again, shaking his head as he couldn't find any words to retaliate with.

"Okay, fine then," he shrugged, "But you need sleep. We can take care of him so you can get some rest."

"No way Leo," April protested, moving toward the couch, "I'm not leaving his side." She returned to her place on the floor next to the sleeping ninja, bringing a finger up to gently caress the side of his face. As she continued to gaze lovingly at him, Leonardo just shook his head again in exasperation.

"You and Donnie are more alike than I thought you were," he muttered under his breath as he walked away. Michelangelo just followed their human companion, wishing to help in any way he could. He sat with the red haired girl, keeping her company as they watched over the injured turtle laying on the couch. They worked as a team, changing Donatello's bandages hourly as was suggested.

"Miss O'Neil, you must go to bed," Splinter said as he walked into the living room to check on his son. The weary girl was up alone now, Michelangelo had retired to his room a while ago. It was the early hours of the morning, though what time it was exactly, the girl didn't know or care about.

"I'm okay Sensei," she muttered out softly, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"No, you are not," Splinter responded quietly, "You know very well that you must get some rest. I am sure that Donatello would not want you to make yourself sick like this. I am no longer asking you. You will go to bed." The elderly rat gave her a firm and commanding look, telling her that she was not to argue. She knew she didn't have any say in the matter any more.

"Okay," the redhead sighed out in defeat. She stood up, stretching her arms above her head while trying, and failing, to stifle a yawn. The aging rat led her to Donatello's room, opening the door and ushering her inside. She walked in, gazing back at her surrogate father curiously.

"I am sure that Donatello will not mind lending his room to you for now," he said, brown eyes twinkling with concealed amusement as his claws stroked his long, thin beard, "Besides, he has no need for it at the moment." He left her to marvel at the room she was in, bidding her a peaceful slumber. April took in the cluttered room, sky blue irises sweeping over all the books, papers, and unfinished projects and inventions that littered nearly every inch of the desk and bookshelves. Spotting the bed, she eagerly walked over to it and settled down beneath the purple blanket, cuddling contentedly into the mattress and pillow. Closing her eyes, the girl drifted off into peaceful sleep, thoughts of her purple clad turtle swirling in her head.

Donatello woke slowly, aware of nothing at first. As he blinked the tiredness out of his chocolate eyes, he felt sudden soreness all across his chest. Wincing, he sat up slowly, trying not to aggravate the wound further and cause more pain.

"You're awake!" a happy voice exclaimed in relief from behind him. Craning his neck, the scientist saw his younger freckled brother coming toward him. "How do you feel?"

"Sore, but not bad," Donatello replied as his other two brothers walked into the room. "What time is it and how long was I out?"

"You were dead to the world all of last night and most of today. It's about ten at night right now." Leonardo answered.

"Wait, you mean it's almost Christmas?" The turtle in purple looked up at his brothers in disbelief, eyes wide.

"Well lets see," Raphael mocked, "It's ten at night on Christmas eve, and I'm pretty sure that midnight marks the next day." Emerald eyes looked dryly over to the wounded turtle. "Did I get that right, or should we put the math on paper?" Rolling his eyes, Donatello merely glanced around the room in search of a certain redhead.

"So I'm guessing April went home?" he sighed out in disappointment.

"Actually, she didn't," Leonardo smiled.

"What?" Donatello looked up at his brother in shock, "You mean she's still here?"

"That girl is definitely stubborn. She wouldn't leave your side for anything. Stayed up the entire night taking care of you, and probably didn't go to sleep until this morning." The turtle in purple shook his head but couldn't stop the smile that spread on his face.

"Where is she?" The scientist questioned. He gazed warily at his brothers as they exchanged teasing grins. A moment of realization dawned on him then, and he began to blush horribly. Standing up, he slowly made his way to his room, leaving his laughing brothers behind him in the living room. Opening the door, he caught sight of something stirring on his bed underneath his blanket. He heard a small yawn as the blanket was kicked back to reveal the human girl hidden beneath it. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were soft with sleep that she tried to blink away. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't alone, but when she did, her entire face lit up.

"Donnie!" the redhead exclaimed, shooting up and running over to him. He chuckled as she stopped herself from tackling him. Instead she just stepped up to him, placing her arms around him gently. "You're awake, you're awake..." she murmured over and over again, her voice shaking.

"Yeah, I am," he muttered back bringing her close and running his large fingers through her fiery hair. He heard a hiccup, and she began to shake a bit in his arms.

"You're such a jerk!" she exclaimed angrily at him, looking up with fierce tear filled eyes, "Don't you ever, ever scare me like that again! Or I swear that next time, the Kraang won't have anything left of you to hurt!" Her anger ebbed away and she broke, sobbing loudly into his bandaged plastron. "I thought...I thought I lost you.." she choked out.

"What can I say? It's an occupational hazard," the scientist joked weakly as he comforted the crying girl. Then he grew serious as he held her at arms length. "Look, April, I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have pushed you away like I did. I didn't mean what I said about you being a burden." He smiled gently at her, eyes softening. "You're definitely the strongest girl I know."

"Donnie? I'm the only girl you know," she grinned back, bringing her hand up to wipe away her tears.

"My point still stands," the turtle in purple muttered as she let out a laugh, "You're the most amazing girl I've ever met, and I know that you're strong. I should have had more faith in you. I was just so scared of losing you, of you getting hurt that I didn't realize I was the one hurting you. I know it's cliche, but it's the truth." He placed a hand on her cheek, which she nuzzled into, locking onto his chocolate brown gaze. She had missed him so much.

"I know. I'm sorry too. I just...I freaked out. I couldn't stand the fact that you were practically killing yourself for me," the redhead said softly. She drew in a sharp breath as she realized that his face was a lot closer to hers than it was when this conversation began.

"April?" he muttered, eyes closing.

"Yeah?" she breathed out, painfully aware of her loud, rapid heartbeat.

"Aishiteru," he whispered out. The two closed their eyes, their lips just a hairs width away when a sudden crash caused them to jolt. Looking over to the doorway, the teens saw three turtles, one on the floor grinning sheepishly while the other two glared at him.

"Um, hi?" Michelangelo grinned, waving at them from the floor. Leonardo and Raphael groaned, simultaneously face palming.

"How long have you guys been there?!" Donatello seethed as April glanced at the clock. It was midnight. Looking back over to the turtle in purple who was currently yelling at his brothers, she shrugged. Why not?

"Hey, Donnie?" she called, tapping his shoulder. He turned his head to face her. Smirking she grabbed him and pulled him close. "Aishiteru." And with that, she placed her lips over his in a loving kiss. The yells of the other three ninjas in the room were ignored as the two melted into their soft kiss. Their minds had gone blank, simply enjoying the sweet feeling of lips on lips, the complete and utter joy it brought them. They knew the future would be difficult, but together, they could survive any hardships. They just needed each other. She didn't need to know Japanese to know what she had told him. She meant it. He did too. They pulled away breathlessly, resting their foreheads together as they gazed into each others eyes.

"Merry Christmas Donnie."

"Merry Christmas April."

_I love you._


End file.
